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THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLK-LORE VOLUME XXI C@ @2
MDCCCCVIII
Reprinted with permission of the American Folklore Society by KRAUS REPRINT CORPORATION New York 17, New York 1963
Copyright, 1908, By THE AMERICAN FOLK-LCP.£ SOCIETY.
All right: veserved.
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXI.
ARTICLES. Some Aspects of the American Shaman. Roland B. Dixon . . «+. ++ © « ¥ Myths of the Nez Percé Indians. I. Herbert J. Spinden . . 2. 1 «© 0 2 © ¢ 33 Catch-Words for Mythological Motives. R. H. Lowie . . . « + «© «© © « «© 24 A Note on Star-Lore among the Navajos. Alfred M. Tosser. . . « eo 6 « 28 An Athabascan Tradition from Alaska. Arthur Wright . .. . owas 38
Notes on the Theory and Treatment of Diseases among the Mackenzie River Eskimo. V. Stefénsson . « 2 2 © + © © © © © we ew ow ee we ew 43
Philippine Folk-Tales. Clara Kern Bayliss 1. . « « 6 0 © © © © © © «@
Two Popular Ballads. G. L. Kittredge . . . 2 «© «© © © © © © «© © o @ 5h iy
King John and the Bishop. Phillips Barry . . o + 57
Survivals of Old Marriage-Customs among the Low Gerians of West Missouri.
William G. Bek . . . 3b, ee cae Deh ee Ss a Tis 2g Se 00 Notes on Folk-Medicine. Charles Bundy Wilson tis). ere @ Ve ae: Cases ee SOS: Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the American Folk-Lore Society. oe eo te te Fh The Test-Theme in North American Mythology. Robert H. Lowie. . . 2 « « 97 Myths of the Nez Percé Indians. II. Herbert J. Spinden . . . « « « «© + 149 Achomawi and Atsugewi Tales. Roland B. Dixon . . 2. . 2. 1 0 6 « © « 189 Ah-jih-lee-hah-neh, a Navajo Legend. George H. Pepper . . . « « « «© « 178 The Don Juan Legend in Literature. Samuel M. Waxman . . . 2. © « - 184 Gipsy and Oriental Musical Instruments. A. 7. Sinclair. . . . . 2 6 + 205
Catch-Words in American Mythology. A. L. Kroeber . . «. «© «© © «© «© «© «© 222 Ceremonies and Traditions of the Dieguefio Indians. Constance Goddard Du Bois 228 Early Cheyenne Tales. George Bird Grinnell . . . « 2 0 ° Wappo Myths. Henriette Rothschild Kroeber . . . «ss « © © « © 6 6 32H A Yuma Account of Origins. John Peabody Harrington . . .
Ballad and Epic. William Hall Clawson . . . 2. 2 « «
e e e BN 6
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Contributions from the Proceedings of the California Branch of the American Folk-Lore Society, 33, 35, 222, 228, 237, 321. A Luisefio Tale, P. S. Sparkman, 35. Wiyot Folk-Lore, A. L. Kroeber, 37. A Southern California Ceremony, A. L. Kroeber, 40. Dieguefio Identification of Color with the Cardinal Points, Thomas Waterman, 40. Luck-Stones among the Yana, Edward Sapir, 42. Algonkian Words in American English, W. J. Wintemberg, 82. Fornvinnen, 82. Orkney and Shetland Old Lore, 82. Cultura Espafiola, 83. Correction, 83. Totemism among the Miwok Indians, S. A. Barrett, 237.. Two Yokuts Traditions, Geo. W. Stewart, 237. Cahuilla Tales, David J. Woosley, 239. Origin Tradition of the Chemehuevi Indians, A. L. Kroeber, 240. Notes on the Maidu Indians of Butte County, California, D. L. Spencer, 242. Folk-Lore of Illinois, 246. Nautical Terms, A. F. Chamberlain, 246. Notes on the Medical Prac- tices of the Visayans, 246. Otis T. Mason, Franz Boas, 362. Items of French-Cana- dian Folk-Lore, Essex County, Ontario, W. J. Wintemberg, 362. Wit Kern Bayliss, 363. Stories of Jean Sotte, Marte Ray, 364. Weathercock Welsh, 365. Mourning Customs of Negroes, John Dixwell, 365.
IV Contents of Volume XXI.
LOCAL MEETINGS. Missouri Branch, 83. California Branch, 249. Iowa Branch, 365.
REVIEWS.
NATALIE Curtis, The Indians’ Book, Alice C. Fletcher, 84. NORTHCOTE W. THOMAS, Bibliography of Anthropology and Folk-Lore, 1906, J. R. Swanton, 86. LEONHARD SCHULTZE, Aus Namaland und Kalahari, R. H. Lowie, 250. E. M. Gorpon, Indian Folk-Tales, A. F. C., 254. FRANZ FRIEDRICH KOHL, Heitere Volksgesainge aus Tirol; ARTHUR Kopp, Bremberger-Gedichte, A. F. C., 255. HowARD Maynaprer, The Arthur of the English Poets, A. C. L. Browne, 256.
Record of American Indian Folk-Lore, A. F. C. and I. C. C., 88, 258, 366. Record of European Folk-Lore in America, A. F. C., 94, 267. Record of Negro Folk-Lore, A. F. C., 263.
O-GH4
THE JOURNAL OF
AMERICAN FOLK-LORE.
VoL. XXI.— JANUARY-MARCH, 1908.—No. LX XX.
SOME ASPECTS OF THE AMERICAN SHAMAN.!
BY ROLAND B. DIXON.
IN any study of the religious beliefs and ceremonials of savage or semi-civilized peoples, either special or comparative, the shaman stands easily as one of the foremost figures. On almost every side of their religious life his influence makes itself felt, and his importance reaches out beyond the limits of religion into the domain of social life and organi- zation and governmental control. By some the term shaman is confined, and perhaps rightly, within somewhat narrow limits; if I may be par- doned the liberty, I shall here extend rather than restrict the meaning of the term, and shall use it as applying to that motley class of persons, found in every savage community, who are supposed to have closer relations with the supernatural than other men, and who, according as they use the advantages of their position in one way or another, are the progenitors alike of the physician and the sorcerer, the prophet, the teacher, and the priest.
Although fundamentally the shaman is everywhere much alike, yet there are not inconsiderable differences apparent, both in his character and position. In discussing certain aspects of the shaman as he is found in America, we may, for the purposes of convenience, regard him from several points of view. He may be considered, first, in the making, — the predisposing character and circumstances, the indications of ap- proaching shamanhood, the sources of his power, and his preparation and training to become a full-fledged shaman. We may regard, also, the functions of the shaman, which are often various, and the method he employs in his profession. There is, further, the question of the organization of the shamans within the community, their position, and the influences which they exert, both as individuals and as a class.
One of the broadest distinctions which may be made, in connection with the making of shamans, is that of sex, — whether the practice of shamanism is open freely to both sexes, or is more or less restricted to
1 Presidential Address delivered at the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the American Folk-Lore Society, Chicago, IIll., January 1, 1908.
2 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
one or the other. In this particular, America is at one with most of the rest of the world in that, predominantly, shamans are male. It by no means follows, however, that women are entirely excluded, for indeed there are few cases known where men exclusively perform this important function. Among various ‘tribes, in both North and South America, the number of women as compared to men in the profession is small, and in some instances no mention is made of women shamans at all. Yet in these cases there are often indications from other sources that they really did exist. We ought to expect, also, that in those tribes where the shaman was already well advanced on the way to becoming a priest, that the proportion of women would in most cases be very small. Opposed to this prevalence of men as shamans, we find in sev- eral sections women shamans equalling or even exceeding the men in importance, as in northern California, or among some of the Carib tribes. The element of sex appears again in another way, as among the tribes of Patagonia, where there was a curious custom which pre- scribed the wearing of female clothing by male shamans. This assump- tion of the apparel of the opposite sex seems rare in America, but somewhat analogous conditions exist among various tribes of north- eastern Asia. In general, then, it appears that in America women are widely permitted to become shamans, male shamans even in some cases having to assume women’s dress, and that the tendency toward the exclusion of women is not as strong as, for example, in much of Polynesia or in Australia.
Next to questions of sex, one of the most important distinctions lies in ‘heredity. In numerous instances the position of shaman descends ‘by inheritance, in either the male or female line, according to the pre- vailing system of tribal descent. In most such cases the assumption of shamanhood is not merely permissive, but mandatory, and refusal by the heir to accept the responsibilities was punished by the spirits with sickness or death.
Contrasted with this hereditary principle, we find many tribes where it plays at best but a small part. That the position is anywhere regarded as exclusively to be attained by inheritance seems not to be the case. More commonly the hereditary element is only moderately developed, and the position of shaman may equally well be obtained as a result of individual initiative, the man or woman seeking to acquire the gift, the position being regarded as open to all. This conscious seeking is further not ruled out by inheritance; for while by inheritance the indi- vidual may secure one or two guardian spirits, for example, he often exerts himself to acquire others in addition.
Contrasted both with the idea of inheritance and of conscious seeking, there is not infrequently something like a supposed selection of the individual by the supernatural beings who force him to enter the ranks
Some Aspects of the American Shaman. 3
of the shamans, and who punish refusal with death. More rarely, per- haps, the selection is human, not divine; for the older shamans select those youths whom they regard as most likely to make good successors to themselves, and teach them the art, or train them to be their assist- ants. In such cases often the selection is made because of certain psychic qualities which the youth is thought to possess, such as a ten- dency to epileptic attacks.
Where the future shaman is designated, either by heredity or by the spirits, indications are usually early apparent. These signs are in part purely subjective and personal, taking the form of dreams, visions, or extraordinary experiences; and partly patent to the world at large, in a growing abstraction of manner, a tendency toward solitude, or in some cases more or less frequent cataleptic seizures. To those who inherit their position, or have it thrust upon them by a higher power, these things come naturally, whereas the seekers after shamanhood must induce them artificially and consciously. To refuse to heed the call of heredity or the mandates of the gods is to bring down on the individual’s head the wrath of the beings by whose aid the shaman accomplishes his results, and such bold persons are punished by disease, loss of reason, or death. In the case of the individual seeker after shamanhood, the attitude is not, after all, very different from that of the ordinary seeker for a personal guardian or manitou. Both are consciously asking aid of the divine beings, and both employ as a whole similar methods, but the powers so gained are employed by one professionally, whereas the other looks at them in quite a different light.
Whatever the sex, and in whatever manner the novice comes to be a member of the craft, the sources of his power, and the means by which he accomplishes his purposes are mainly four: He may derive his aid and secure his guardian from among the host of animal spirits; or from local spirits of various sorts and those of natural phenomena; or from the ghosts of the dead; or, lastly, from the greater deities them- selves. Of these, the first seems to be by far the most common in Amer- ica as a whole; and where, in some cases, the guardian spirits are not themselves animal, it sometimes occurs that the shaman’s powers are secured, at least in some degree, through their aid. Various local or disembodied spirits, or those of natural phenomena, seem perhaps the next most common source of power, and these are often conceived of as human or semi-human in form. A ghostly origin for the shaman’s power is, on the whole, rather rare; but we may see one form of the idea in the Tlingit method, adopted as a last resort by those seeking to acquire shamanistic strength, of sleeping on a grave, or biting off the finger of a corpse. That the power of the shaman comes directly or indirectly from one of the higher deities seems, also, a comparatively restricted belief in America. Such instances, however, as that of the Mohave are
4 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
striking, for here not only is the shaman supposed to secure his strength from the greater deities, but to have so secured it before birth, in the mythic age.
But whatever the source of the power, and whether the individual inherits his position or not, there is a fairly definite method of procedure adopted by the novice in gaining control over the source of this strength. We may consider next, therefore, the means whereby the individual first puts himself in communication with that class of supernatural beings whose aid is to be his, or which he seeks, and with whom, once the connection is established, he always tries to become more and more familiar.
It goes without saying almost, that the most widespread method is that of fasting and solitude. The weakening of the body and the stimulation of the imagination through these means is almost univer- sally regarded as one of the most efficient ways of getting into communi- cation with the unseen world, and is employed alike by the shaman novice and by the seeker for spiritual aid of all sorts. Very frequently there is added to this requirement of fasting and solitude that of bodily cleanliness. This may be attained by frequent bathing in remote lakes or streams, by the use of the sudatory, or by either of these means, with the added requirement of rubbing the body or scenting it with fragrant herbs and roots. Not infrequently, also, this exterior cleanliness must be accompanied by an inner cleansing as well, and we have then the use of various sorts of purgatives and emetics, as among the Muskogi, the Caribs, and other tribes. The underlying principle in this is, in many instances, clearly that the supernatural beings are displeased by bodily uncleanliness, and attracted by its opposite, and will therefore refuse to come to an applicant who does not present himself clean and sweet- smelling, or at least without the smell of mankind.
These means alone are, however, often thought to be inadequate unless supplemented by some sort of offering or sacrifice. Such sacrifices are as a rule not great, and consist of a few beads, a little tobacco, or in some cases the offering of a few drops of the applicant’s blood. Such gifts are accompanied by a brief prayer to the spirit for aid. Animal sacrifice, under such conditions, seems almost if not quite unknown in America.
The use of drugs to induce a stupor, in which the shaman novice is visited by the spirits, is in the northern continent rather rare, but appears much more frequently in South America, where the use of drugs is reported, or may be inferred, over large areas. That dreams are also a most important element in the initiation of the shaman’s association with the supernatural beings is well known, and these are as a rule made more vivid by the fasting and solitude which, as already stated, almost invariably form part of the preliminary training.
Some Aspects of the American Shaman. 5
Where the position of shaman is one acquired by inheritance, these various methods become perhaps less necessary, as the association be- tween the man and his supernatural guardian is already established. Yet in a modified way they are used, nevertheless, for the novice must, after receiving the indications of his approaching shamanhood, in any case submit to certain food restrictions, must make small offerings to his ancestors’ guardian spirits, who are now his guardians, and must, through dreams or trances, get instructions from them and learn their songs and secrets. Not infrequently we find the idea, that the supernatural beings resent, so to speak, the change of ownership, and are at first more or less hostile to the new shaman. He must, therefore, by the use of the same methods which others employ to attract to them- selves the spirits in the first place, now proceed to “tame” those which he inherits, and bring them to regard him in a more friendly light.
A not unimportant feature of this period of preparation and training is to be noted in regard to whether it is a purely individual affair or whether the novice receives more or less actual teaching and super- vision from other older shamans. It is probable that in most if not all cases there is something of this element of instruction, for how other- wise could the novice learn so well the numerous tricks of the trade ? That it is pronounced often is shown by many instances in both conti- nents. In such cases, as a rule, the novice must make heavy payments to his teachers for their services, and the fact that he is getting instruc- tion is not kept secret. Not only, however, is the instruction open and definite, but a more or less public ceremonial of initiation is held, through which the novice must pass before being recognized as a member of the craft. An example of such a ceremonial which will at once occur to all is that of the Midéwiwin of the Ojibwa. In some instances, indeed, such ceremonials constitute perhaps the most important, as certainly they do the most spectacular, of all the ceremonies of the people. On the other hand, there are many instances where the novice, although actually instructed and trained by the older shamans, is so taught in secret, and is supposed by the people at large to acquire all his know- ledge in a mysterious way.
So far, then, as regards the making of the shaman in America, we may say that the position is most commonly filled by men, is very commonly one of his own conscious seeking, and that he obtains his powers through the mediation of a supernatural guardian spirit, generally animal in character, with which he strives to come into communication through solitary fasting, bodily cleanliness, and gifts, and that he receives more or less direct and open tutelage from the older shamans in the practices of his adopted art.
Having briefly considered the means by which the individual becomes a member of the class of shamans, we may next inquire as to their
6 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
functions. From his position as mediator between men and the super- natural powers, the functions of a shaman are naturally complex, developing along the various lines in which he may be of service to the community. Typically the shaman is, in the lower stages of culture, at once healer, sorcerer, seer, educator, and priest; but while often the single shaman sums up in himself thus all or most of these functions, there is frequently specialization, as a result of which each of these activities is exercised by a different person.
It is as healer, as the medicine-man, that the American shaman is perhaps best known, and it is this function of his which comes out most strongly in those tribal groups whose general culture is lowest and least differentiated. As healer, the shaman’s methods of procedure may be considered under two heads: those in which the pain or disease is mastered and expelled directly by the shaman himself, with or without the help of his spirit guardians; and those where the shaman, become really more of a priest, carries out a more or less elaborate ceremonial, which, in virtue of its own inherent magical power, effects a cure, or through which the greater gods exert themselves to aid the sufferer.
The first of these methods follows naturally from the wellnigh universal savage theory of disease ; namely, that it is due to the presence in the body of some tangible, albeit mysterious, object placed there magically by a sorcerer or inimical spirit. Obviously, the logical method of cure is to extract this object, and this becomes the shaman’s task. The object itself is variously conceived of —it is a fragment of bone or stone, a sharp thorn, a hair-like object, a tiny worm, a small animal, or in some cases a mysterious needle-shaped object. In the extraction of this source of pain, the most common means employed is sucking, either directly with the lips or by means of a tube. Sometimes the “pain” is extracted invisibly through a feather, the tip of which is placed on the body while the other end is held in the mouth, or through a cord. In other cases blowing, rather than sucking, is employed, or rubbing and pinching, or an actual incision is made in the skin, to facili- tate the emergence of the deadly body. Once extracted, the source of trouble must be destroyed, or rendered innocuous, by burning, throwing into running water, burial, or by swallowing by the shaman. Often, if not always, it is shown to the patient and his friends, and sometimes may even be handled bv them.
Another type of procedure, rather less common than the above, is found in those cases where the shaman is called upon to resuscitate a person in a swoon or coma, supposed to be due to the absence of the patient’s soul. This problem clearly requires wholly different methods, and the shaman therefore goes into a trance, and either sends his own spirit in search of the missing one, or utilizes his guardian spirits by making them undertake the quest. Although the use of this method
Some Aspects of the American Shaman. 7
may be widely spread throughout the whole of America, it is perhaps most common in the northwestern portion of the northern continent. The fact that the method is also rather common in northeastern Asia may perhaps in this connection be significant.
As a rule there is little separation of the ability to diagnose a case and to cure it, as scems to have been the case in New Zealand, for instance. In California, however, among the Pomo, this distinction is made, and while one shaman determines the nature and cause of the trouble, another must be called in to effect the cure.
Of the second type of the healer’s functions, the use of formule seems to be the simplest. In northwestern California, and also to a consid- erable extent among the Cherokee, the cure is effected, not through the extraction of a tangible object from the patient’s body, but by the mere exact repetition of a traditional formula, recounting the occur- rence of a similar malady in mythic times, and the curing of this first patient. The mere repetition of this myth, accompanied by a brief prayer to the being who had brought about this first cure, often with the addition of the use of certain herbs in a purely ceremonial manner, is sufficient to relieve the sufferer. Here, then, is a wholly different point of view. The shaman no longer personally accomplishes the cure, but brings it about by the use of a charm, whose efficacy consists in its rit- ual repetition or performance, and which depends for its power, not on the shaman’s individual spirit guardians, but on the greater super- natural beings of mythic times. In theory, at least, any one, be he shaman or not, may produce the same result by the proper use of such a formula.
A much more highly developed form of this idea is shown in the case of the Navaho and Apache. Here, as is well known, there is in use the remarkable series of enormously complicated ceremonials, with their hundreds of songs, their dances and elaborate sand-paintings, the whole ritual lasting for a period of many days. These ceremonies, as well in song, impersonation, and in paintings, refer to the greater gods of the people, and it is in the exact accuracy of the performance and in the magical virtue resident in the sand of the paintings that their power and ability to cure lies. Here, also, the ceremony is not always directed to the well-being of a single individual, for others may share in the virtue of the rite and the efficacy resident in the sand. The shaman here has outgrown the narrower limits of the class, and takes on more and more the character of a priest. Possibly into this same class of ceremonies may be put, at least in part, the curious ritual formerly held by the Iroquois, so graphically described in the Jesuit Relations. Among these tribes, sickness was supposed in many cases to be due to an unsatisfied wish or unfulfilled dream, and the sufferer propounded his desire or dream in the form of a riddle, which had to be guessed,
8 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
and the desired object secured, or the dream enacted in order to bring about a cure. In serious cases, where the patient was a person of importance, the whole population of the village veritably ran amuck in connection with the affair, and the uproar and confusion of the Ononhouaria was repeated. Here, also, apparently mimetic dances played a part, as did the ritual obscenities of which the Jesuits spoke with horror.
With some exceptions, the shaman as healer made comparatively little use of drugs. Fragrant roots and herbs were sometimes burned, infusions were rubbed or blown upon the body, but merely as charms, and only rarely were drugs so used that any medicinal effect was possible.
Inextricably associated with the functions of healer is its opposite, that of sorcerer. Where sickness is thought to be mainly due to the presence in the body of objects placed there magically, the shaman is supposed in most cases to be responsible. The sorcerer accomplishes his ends, as a rule, by the miraculous shooting, throwing, or blowing of the “‘ pain” into the body of the victim, distance being no bar to the suc- cess of his evil deeds. The use of sympathetic magic, widely employed in other parts of the world to cause sickness and death by sorcerers, although used, seems on the whole in America to be less prevalent.
Other features of the shaman’s work as sorcerer lie in the preparation of love-charms, hunting-charms, and in the control of weather, crops, and game. So far as regards the latter, at least, the shaman has less to do in those tribes where the institution of the personal manitou is known than where it is absent, for where practically every one has his personal manitou there is no need of calling in outside aid. In his control over crops, and over rain as desired for the growth of crops, the shaman as a rule yields as a single personality to the elaborately organized shaman and other secret society ceremonials. Under such conditions, the shaman again takes on a more priestly character, and the ritual grows in importance and its magical quality becomes more and more prominent.
As part and parcel of his functions as sorcerer, the various tricks and feats of legerdemain must be considered, which the shaman must always have at his command. These are partly practical, such as the simple feats of concealing the objects which he pretends to remove from the patient, and partly designed to overawe and impress the people with the proofs of his supernatural power. One of the features con- nected with this idea is, of course, the claim that the shaman is able to transform himself at will into the form of some animal or bird, as a bear, a wolf, cougar, owl, etc. These beliefs, world-wide in distribution, appear in many parts of America, from the Eskimo in the north to the Amazonian tribes in the south, and from the Iroquois in the east to the Californian tribes in the west.
Some Aspects of the American Shaman. 9
As seer or prophet the shaman exhibits one of his most common functions, and one in which his supposed close intimacy with the super- natural beings is of most direct help. It is from them that he gains the information sought, be it as to the whereabouts of lost articles, of game or foe, or the determination of guilt. In some cases the shaman insists on complete seclusion, and lies bound within a closed hut; in others the ceremony occurs in the presence of spectators, but only under cover of darkness. Again, the shaman goes into a trance in full view of the multitude, and on awakening discloses the information sought. In most cases the shaman’s familiars are supposed to come bodily to the spot and converse audibly with the seer, who often exercises consider- able ventriloquistic skill in imitating their approach and varied voices.
The spiritual flight of the shaman himself, in search of information, so characteristic of the shamans in northeastern Siberia, seems on the whole rare. Other methods of prophesying, such as divination, were also largely in use in certain sections, and ranged from the simplest to the more complicated methods, involving the use of the tonalamatl, as among the Nahua people in Mexico.
The function of priest, understanding by that one which involves the individual as a leader of others in a more or less communal cere- mony, and as a mediator in the more direct sense between man and the gods — this function of the shaman is but slightly developed among those tribes which are in the lower stages of culture. Over large areas, therefore, one can hardly speak of the shaman as in any real sense a priest. For although there may be elaborate ceremonials in use, as for instance in the Northwest Coast area, the shaman as such does not play a leading part. Throughout the Plains, however, the shaman takes on a more decidedly priestly character, the generalized shaman becomes differentiated, and in the custodians of the sacred palladia of the tribe and the men who have in their keeping also the myths associated with the ceremonials held in their honor we have a class of persons whose character is much higher and more dignified than that of the Healer- Sorcerer-Seer; so much so, indeed, that we can no longer strictly call them shamans. A considerable development of the priestly function may also be seen among the Muskogi, particularly in the case of the Natchez, with their remarkable cult and so-called temple. In the South- west, again, the priestly character of the shaman becomes conspicuous. Among the still more highly cultured peoples of Mexico and Central America, of Peru and Colombia, the priestly element becomes exalted to the first place, reaching a position of importance almost if not quite equal to that in the Old World.
Lastly, as educator the importance of the shaman is by no means small. Almost universally the keepers and preservers of myth and tra- dition, and of such arts as writing and divination, they either passively
IO Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
or actively taught their knowledge, which was the tribal wisdom, to the younger generation. Where, even in a generally undeveloped culture as in Central California, there existed some sort of secret societies, the shamans were the teachers who instructed the boys and young men through long weeks and months of seclusion in the dance-house. The same holds true, more or less, where ceremonies of initiation were held for all young men. As we pass into the Southwest, and on into Mexico and Peru, we find the shaman-priest becoming a real educator, having charge of the boys and instructing them in all the knowledge and arts which men must know. In other parts of the world we find this same importance of the shaman as educator, as for example in Oceanica where, in such institutions as the men’s-house, or in the initia- tion ceremonies in Australia, the shamans are often the persons who give long and careful instruction, mental, moral, and physical, to their charges.
Although these varied functions of healer, sorcerer, seer, priest, and educator have been here discussed as separate, in reality, among all tribes in the lower stages of culture, they are, as has been said, all more or less combined in any given individual. In these stages commonly all the functions coéxist, although in unequal proportions, and we have in the shaman here an undifferentiated type. As a rule the functions of healer and sorcerer overshadow enormously all the rest, and it is only as the general culture level rises, and the life of the people becomes more complex, that from the earlier undifferentiated type the clearer figures of the priest-educator, the healer-sorcerer, and the seer begin to emerge.
A factor of interest in connection with shamanism lies in the degree of organization which the shamans as a class exhibit. Presumably in all cases there exists some degree of fellowship and association between the different individuals of the craft. This may, however, be very vague and undefined, or, on the other hand, quite definite and exact. In general, the greater the degree of differentiation in function, the greater the tendency for the members of each class to become organized. Where, as in California or throughout the Great Basin area, there is little spe- cialization, there isin turn littleorganization. Among the Algonquin tribes of the Great Lakes, however, where specialization has become more conspicuous, the rather definite organization of the Midé exists. In the Southwest, with the greater growth of the priestly element, we have in the various societies of the Hopi the principle carried farther. Finally, in Mexico and Central America, and again in Peru, the organ- ization of the priest-shaman reaches its highest development, the whole great hierarchy of priests, particularly in Peru, not only ordering and controlling itself, but reaching out over and in a sense comprehending the entire state.
ea eg a —_ ——
a ==
Some Aspects of the American Shaman. II
Still another aspect of the shaman deserves brief mention, and that is his position, his standing and influence in the community. It is inevi- table, of course, that in any community he who wields a power so enor- mous in its possibilities as does the shaman should occupy a place of great prominence. His position is, therefore, normally one of very con- siderable importance. He must be treated with respect, and his wishes consulted, lest in anger he bring sickness and death upon those who displease him. Very commonly he is wealthy, as his services for good or evil command large fees, especially if for evil, as sorcery is always a dangerous profession; for even if the shaman escape the wrath of the relatives of his victim, the evil meditated may fail of its mark, and recoil upon its sender. Powerful, and possessed often of considerable wealth, the shaman is thus in many cases the real ruler of the people, particu- larly among those tribes where social and governmental organization is undeveloped, where there is no centralized civil power to dispute the claims of religion, and where the more or less peaceful character of the tribe has retarded the growth of military power. Where, however, these conditions change, the position of the shaman generally changes also. Among the Plains people, for example, where war assumed so great a prominence, and social and governmental organization were moderately developed, the importance of the shaman waned before that of the war leader and chief, and only in times of peace did the shamans as a class somewhat regain their prestige. With the Iroquois, indeed, where war and conquest became the whole end of life, the im- portance of the shaman decreased still further.
If there were no other factors which came in, we might expect to find a similar overshadowing of the shaman-priest in Mexico, where military ideals and traditions grew almost of necessity out of the long contest of the Nahua people for their national existence. But here the subordination was to a considerable extent counteracted by the organi- zation of the priests as a class, and by the greater complexity of the religious life, which, with its multitude of deities and temples, with their frequent elaborate ceremonials and appalling sacrifices, kept the priest-shaman always a factor of importance. This was still more true in Peru, where we may say that the Inca power was in some degree a theocracy, in which the priest-king, once presumably elective, had become virtually a hereditary ruler, at once head of church and state, claiming divine origin and receiving divine honors.
It is apparent, also, that with growth of culture the functions of the shaman suffer a change. In the lower stages, it is as healer-sorcerer that he is most conspicuous, the priestly function being in general com- paratively unimportant. With the development of more elaborate ceremonial and a greater depth of religious belief, the quality of healer- sorcerer becomes relatively less apparent, and the feeling of a need for a
12 Fournal of Ameruan Folk-Lore.
mediator between man and the higher gods, the necessity for a class of persons who shall be the conservators of the ever-increasing bulk of ritual, lead to the growth of the priestly function. The shaman-sor- cerer, however, does not disappear by any means, but merely wanes before the shaman-priest. Once, however, the change begins, the pres- tige and influence of the shaman-sorcerer rapidly decays, and among those tribes where ritual and religious life has reached its highest development, the shaman as a healer-sorcerer plays but an humble part compared with those who, by the growth of the priestly function, have become true priests.
In large degree, the shaman in America may be said as a type to exemplify one of the most characteristic attributes of the Indian as a race. For the shaman, at least in his lower stages, like the ordinary man, obtains his mysterious powers from supernatural helpers, acquired through fasting, dreams, and visions; he differs from the ordinary man chiefly in the extent and character of the help secured. To the one his manitou or personal totem is something sacred, awful, called on only in times of direst need, a single guardian, whose identity is jealously concealed; to the other not one but many spirits minister, with them the shaman comes to be almost on terms of intimacy, and of them he re- quires constant and varied aid in the calling by which he makes his living. Inasmuch, therefore, as one of the most striking characteristics of the American Indian lies in the wide prevalence of the idea of the personal manitou, we may find in the development and in the person and position of the shaman a significant instance of the unity of race feeling which can be recognized throughout almost the whole of American culture. As compared with their representatives in other parts of the world, the shamans in America seem to show, both in their making and in their whole character, less reliance on the dead, the ancestral spirits, than do those of other regions. This lack of dependence upon the dead is an example of the general weakness of the whole idea of ancestral worship in America as compared with Polynesia and large parts of Asia.
The American shaman thus, in his lack of dependence on ancestral spirits and the greater deities, and in deriving his powers from animals and natural phenomena, exemplifies strikingly the spirit of the American Indian as a race; and in the general uniformity of these characteristics throughout both continents serves as an illustration of the belief that in spite of minor differences as among themselves the culture of the American Indians is fundamentally one in type, influenced perhaps slightly here and there by other cultures, but yet in spite of this autoch- thonous.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MAss.
Myths of the Nez Perce Indians. 13
MYTHS OF THE NEZ PERCE INDIANS.’ I.
BY HERBERT J. SPINDEN.
INTRODUCTION. — The following myths were collected by the Nez Percé Expedition of the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, during the summer of 1907. They were taken down, some in native text and some in close translations made by an interpreter, and are now given with the least possible changes. They were related, for the most part, by Jonas Hayes, an old man past seventy years of age. Jonas Hayes is now a ringleader of the renegades, but for many years he was a Methodist minister, and before that he was a shaman and a chief. He is considered an excellent authority on the old times, and is doubtless more sincere in his savagery than in his civilization.
One or two short tales were obtained from other sources with less accuracy. Parallels were obtained from compositions written by some of the Indian pupils in the government school at Lapwai, Idaho. These pupils were examined through the kindness of Mr. O. H. Lipps, the Indian Agent. These stories, while in some cases the same as those told by Jonas Hayes, showed in other cases a composite character.
The principal figure in Nez Percé mythology is Coyote (Itseyeye). He combines the réle of the culture-hero with that of the buffoon and dupe. There is no real creation of the people, only an ascent from a lower world into an upper world already populated by animals. Coyote is frequently a transformer, but his character is inconsistent. Most of the myths are animal stories pure and simple; a few, however, concern human beings, and one in this collection falls under the head of Boy- Hero Myths. Five is very strongly evident as the sacred number as opposed to four in the Plains.
Many of the incidents in the myths show affiliations with the Plains, the Great Basin, and the Pacific Coast tribes. There is a considerable remainder not found in any published material. This would be doubtless much lessened were there more information on the mythology of the Basin Area, especially the Shoshone, the interior Salish, and the other tribes of the same linguistic stock as the Nez Percé. The notes point out the most noticeable similarities to published mythologies.
I. CREATION STORY.
Coyote was chief of the animals. Now, he told them that the tribes of men were coming near, one and all. Everything he said came true. Then he said to them, ‘‘To-morrow the people will come out of the ground, so I will name them and they will spread out.”” Then he named
1 Read at the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the American Folk-Lore Society, Chi- cago, IIL
14 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
them, he named them: till he had named all. And the people came out, and Coyote had no name for himself. Many people came out. Then he named himself Coyote. Thus came people, not we alone, but all people.
2. ILTSWEWITSIX, THE KAMIAH MONSTER.
There was an enormous something that was named Iltswewitsix.' That monster called all birds, all animals, and all things to him and swallowed them. Now Coyote heard about that monster and started towards him. The trail? he took went by Umatilla, Wallowa, and Imnaha. He crossed the Imnaha River and with his flint spear he dug through the ridge just across the Snake River from Whitebird. He crossed the Snake River and went up Whitebird Creek till he reached the top of the Salmon River Mountains on the north side. The monster was near that place.
There Coyote bound his head with grass and tied himself down with Coyote rope.* The monster beyond called out, ‘You and I, let us try who can suck the other into his body.”’ Coyote mystified Ilts- wewitsix, who said to himself, ‘‘I wonder where that person is.” Then Coyote nodded his head and Iltswewitsix saw him. Coyote stood up and the monster said to him, ‘‘ You suck in with your breath first.” Coyote sucked so hard that he made Itswewitsix move one of his legs. Then Iltswewitsix said to Coyote, “It is now my turn.” He drew a breath, he drew another breath, and the two breaths broke the rope, and Coyote ran till he came to the mouth of the monster. Then he said, “‘Open your mouth and I will go in.” The monster said, “Go in at the nose,”’ but Coyote said, “No.” Coyote went in and kept on till he was where the monster’s heart hung.‘ There he built a fire and cut away the flesh with his five knives. The monster asked Coyote in vain to come out. He said, ‘Let me vomit you,” and Coyote replied, ‘‘ No, people might find out.” He kept on cutting. The monster said, “‘ Then go out at the ears or at the nose.” At last the heart came off and Coyote
1 Iltswewitsix is described as having been something like a deer. The quickly indrawn breath of a frightened deer seems to have suggested the monster. The “‘heart”’ of the monster is still pointed out, where Coyote set it down, as a small rocky hill on the east bank of the Clearwater River at Kamiah. Other parts of the body are sometimes located farther down the river, and the animal seems to have figured in other myths or in vari- ants of this one. General similarities are seen in the place monsters of surrounding tribes. See, especially, Simms, Traditions of the Crows, p. 305.
2 The trail given in this story is the one travelled when passing from the Umatilla country to the Clearwater valley. Where Coyote dug through is now the saddle at the head of Divide Creek.
* Coyote rope, or Coyote lariat, is a long trailing vine, sometimes several inches thick at the base, and commonly called ‘‘ smoke-wood.”
‘ The cutting of a monster’s heart from inside his body is a common motive. See Boas, Kathlamet Texts, p. 65; McDermott, ‘Folk-Lore of the Flathead Indians of Idaho,” Jour. Am. Folk-Lore, vol. xiv, pp. 240, 241; Simms, Traditions of the Crows, p. 305; Dorsey, Traditions of the Osage, p. 42.
Myths of the Nez Percé Indians. 15
went out behind. The monster died and Coyote slaughtered him and gave all the people a piece. At Kamiah he put down the heart. Thus he delivered all the people.
3. HOW THE SALMON GOT OVER THE FALLS.
They were camped on Craig Mountain. Coyote had one son, and this boy killed a deer at the head of Captain John Creek. Then that boy asked Coyote and another old man to go and get the deer. Coyote’s boy played a trick on his father, for he gave him a rope that was made of gut." The men set out to get the deer, and when they arrived at the place they found the meat. The other man told Coyote to pack the backbone. They started up the hill, but had not gone two hundred feet when Coyote’s rope broke. He spliced the rope. Then he went about sixty feet and the rope broke again. Thus the rope broke five times and Coyote got tired. The other man had gone on and left him. Coyote sat down and saw the Snake River below him. Then he took that backbone and threw it down the hill.
Coyote thought to himself, ‘I will go down to the river and take a swim.”” He was swimming when he saw a riffle of waves just below him. He swam down to the waves and then he saw another patch and he thought he would swim to them. Then he swam all the way down the river. He swam down just this side of the Great Falls and he heard the five girls who owned that dam.
Then Coyote wished to be a baby in a cradle that was laid across two logs and floating down stream. The girls said, ‘“Somebody must have been drowned up stream, for there is a baby floating down.” The girls started a swimming race to the baby on condition that it should belong to the one who reached it first. So the girls swam out to it, and the oldest one got there first and lifted it out. So it belonged to the oldest one. They took it home and gave it some dried salmon, which it ate up very quickly. They kept feeding it. After it had been two days with them, the girls decided to go and dig some roots. They took the baby with them, and pretty soon it grew very thirsty and its throat became dry — aq, aq, aq.” Now, out of these five girls the youngest knew the baby was really Coyote. The baby’s foster-mother told it to crawl down to the river. They watched it going down.
Pretty soon Coyote came to the camp, and there he brought out the kettles and cooked himself some salmon. He ate till he could eat no more. Then Coyote thought he might just as well open that dam, so he tore the dam open. The girls saw the salmon jumping in the water
1 This incident, together with the breaking of the dam, are repeated in Teit, Traditions of the Thompson River Indians, pp. 26, 27.
2 Imitations of sounds for the sake of emphasis play an important part in Nez Percé myths as recited.
16 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
above the dam and Coyote called out to them, ‘Our dam has gone out.”
These girls had a spoon made of mountain-sheep horn. Coyote took this and put it over his head. Each one as she came would hit him over the head with a stick and he would laugh. Then he came up the river. And that is the way the salmon got up river.
4. THE LOG WORM.
The Worm used to have ten fire-pokers. He used to kill every one he could. He was blind and he counted those sticks over and over, all day long. Nakts tiwanitas * — one poker. Lepit tiwanitas — two pokers. Mitat tiwanitas— three pokers (etc.).
Thus he would count all the pokers, first on one side, then on the other.
Coyote came to the house one day. He heard him count. He went in and watched him count the pokers. Then Coyote thought it would be fun to hide one poker from him. Then the Worm counted and missed
one poker. Nakts tiwanitas — one poker. Lepit tiwanitas — two pokers (etc. up to nine).
He counted over once more and missed it again. Then he counted several times and missed one poker for sure. Then he knew some one had taken that poker. |
Now, he had a kamo’ rope. He went to the door and tied that rope across it so close that nothing could get out. Then the Worm went back and got a club and began to thrash the floor with it. He pounded away till Coyote almost yelled; then the Worm made a swinging blow and killed Coyote.
Then the Worm came and felt of him, and after he had done this he knew it was Coyote. He untied the door, dragged Coyote down to the creek and threw him in. So Coyote floated down a bend and a half and then he floated to the bank. Magpie was flying along when he saw Coyote lying there. Magpie said to himself, “I wonder if there is any matter in his eyes.” The pecking brought Coyote to. Then Magpie said to Coyote, ‘You are crazy, that Worm has been there for many years killing people. You had better return, enter, take one poker and then go out of the house. You will see him tie the rope across the door again. When you hear him begin to pound, set fire to the house.”
So Coyote took another stick and carried it out. Coyote saw him
1 Tiwanitas is said to be the term for a fire-poker in the Yakima language. The myth probably was borrowed from the Yakima.
2 Kamo is the Nez Percé term for the Indian hemp plant (A pocynum cannabinum) and also for the rope made from it.
Myths of the Nez Perce Indzans. 17
tie the rope fast and then begin to pound. At once Coyote started a fire around the house. When the fire was well started, Coyote cried out, ‘Old man, we are afire!’”? The house burned till Coyote heard something pop. So Coyote named him, saying: “‘ You will be nothing but a Worm.” *
5- COYOTE AND WINTER HAVE A WAR.
Yaunyaiye said to Coyote, ‘You cannot do anything to me.” Then Coyote answered, “You are good for nothing; I could kill you if I wanted to.’’ They were both angry, so they agreed to have war. They named three months for endurance to see who was the best man.’ Then Coyote said to Yaunyaiye. “Let us have war for five months,” ® They made up the contract how they would have the battle, but nobody knew how Coyote had planned to kill Yaunyaiye. Coyote collected all the winter food he could. He took the fat off the bear and all other animals. Both arranged so they were ready when the time came.
Yaunyaiye came to Coyote and said, ‘‘When you are ready we will have the war.”? Then Coyote answered, “Let us begin now.” In the middle of the night Coyote woke up and went out. He saw the snow was over everything. Now he had made his house-poles out of large trees, perhaps two feet in diameter. It snowed the entire first month. The snow reached a long way up the side of the house. It snowed till about the middle of the second month. The snow almost covered the house then. After Coyote had lived through four months, Yaunyaiye began to give up. Coyote lasted through and killed Yaunyaiye. Then Coyote would come out of his house and go down to the river. He would see the ice going down and it would be crying. Coyote would pick up a stone and hit it.
6. COYOTE AND THE GRIZZLY BEAR.
There was a she-grizzly bear who was always angry. One day she was travelling through the woods and there she came to a camp of Indians. Soon she began to eat them all. In the evening, when she returned home, she had a bad headache. During the night she became very sick because she had eaten a great many Indians. She lay in bed for a week and almost died. She wanted Coyote to come and heal her.
1 This formula of transformation is very much like that found among the Maidu and other Californian tribes.
3 Contests between hot and cold weather are found among the Thompson River Indians. Here, also, Coyote is spoken of as being master of cold weather. Teit, op. cit. PP- 4% 49) 55, 56.
8’ There were nine months or seasons in the old Nez Percé calendar. The four months during which winter held his own were —
Saxliw4li (the beginning of cold weather). Heékwix (embryo deer about six inches long). Wildpip (middle of winter),
Alitim4l (sprouting leaves).
VOL. XXI.— NO. 80. 2
18 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
People told Coyote that she wanted him because she was very weak and could not stand up alone. But Coyote answered: ‘“‘I do not care if she dies. It would not hurt me or anybody else. Everybody would be glad of it.”? But his wife told him to go in company with some others. So he went to the sick one who had sent for him.
After a time he came to the house where the Grizzly Bear was. He healed her. He told her the reason she was sick was from eating too many choke-cherries. He thought all the people would run away from the Grizzly Bear if he told her she had eaten the people. Now, when he was all ready to run off, he told her she was sick from eating Indians.
The Grizzly Bear jumped up and chased Coyote. He ran up the hills; he ran down the valleys; he ran through the woods. At last he changed himself into a buffalo eating grass by the trail.' Grizzly Bear thought she would catch Coyote, no matter into what animal he changed himself. Now, she saw the buffalo and was going to kill it, when she saw the tracks of Coyote going right by. When she had passed by, he changed himself back to his own form. He called after the Grizzly Bear and said, “ You are only a foolish old animal; you can never catch me.” When the Grizzly Bear heard Coyote’s voice she quarrelled with him and ran after him again.
After a while Coyote turned himself into an old man who had small- pox. He was in a house by the trail. His clothes were old and torn. When the Grizzly Bear came up she looked into the house. She asked the man if any one had passed. He told her a man had crossed the river. She saw the bridge with tracks on it. The bridge was made of willows. Now, she thought she could get across on that bridge, so she walked on it. She broke the bridge, fell into the water, and was drowned.
Then Coyote turned himself into his old form and went back to the people. He told them he had killed the Grizzly Bear.
7. COYOTE AND SALMON.
Once Coyote was travelling up river. There were plenty of large fish swimming in the river and Coyote called out for Salmon to swim up to him so Coyote could catch him. He said, “‘O big Salmon, swim up to me.” Coyote was very hungry and tired. He sat down beside a tree in the shade. After a while Salmon came. Coyote had a torn blanket; he waded into the river and tried to cover Salmon with the blanket. But Salmon tore the blanket to pieces and swam away. Coyote got tired trying.
Then Coyote hit his lips with his fist, and little creatures ran out of his mouth? and told him what he should do. They said to him, “‘ Get
1 See Dorsey, The Pawnee, p. 429, for example of transformation into a person who
gives wrong advice. 2 Supernatural advisers are very common and take many forms; such as talking
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Myths of the Nez Perce Indians. 1g
a large stick, and when that fish swims up to you hit him with the stick.” After a while Salmon came again. First Coyote hollowed out a place into which Salmon could swim and then he killed Salmon.
He built a fire on the ground to cook the fish. Then he went to sleep in the shade near the fire.’ The other animals were looking for birds’ eggs. They saw Coyote and went right up to him. They said, ‘‘ Let us eat this ourselves.”” Now, Coyote was sound asleep. In his sleep he was snoring, “Aha, aha, aha.” His snoring was just like saying, “Yes, yes, yes,”’ so the animals ate up all the fish.
They had left Coyote without anything to cook, so they decided to cut out,a piece of Coyote’s flesh and place it on the fire where Coyote had put the fish. After a while Coyote woke up. He saw in the fire his own flesh, but he did not recognize it. He was about to eat it, but did not. Ant said to him, “ You are eating your own flesh.”” Then Ant ran up to the place where they had cut out Coyote’s flesh and bit him. Coyote put his hand where Ant was biting him. Then he saw the animals laughing and jumping around.
Coyote put the flesh back in place, and determined to get even with the other animals. The other animals went on a short distance and then built a fire to cook their eggs. After a while they, too, lay down and went to sleep. Coyote crept up and ate up all the eggs but one. Then Coyote made them funny-looking animals. He painted their faces. He sharpened Fox’s nose. Then he left them and went off a short dis- tance and lay down to watch. When they woke up they saw only one egg left. Then Coyote laughed and threw himself around. They chased him, but they could not catch him. Then they grew tired of running and stopped. Coyote went on.
8. KATSTAINOMIOTS OR ELBOW-BABY.
Once Coyote made up his mind to travel. On his way he heard some one, and he stopped to listen. He could hear the person singing : —
In-sil-u-tsa-a, In-sil-u-tsa-a. Oh my eyes come back, Oh my eyes come back.
Then he looked up and saw one eye in the air, and soon he saw two eyes in the air.” Then Coyote knew the man; it was Wildcat. Now, Coyote was a man who was always curious and who liked good
excrement (Dixon, Maidu Myths, pp. 84, 85; Boas, Tsimshian Texts, p. 54, etc.), talking paddle (Farrand, Tradstions of the Chilcotin, p. 16). See myth no. 8.
1 One of the most frequent motives in the Plains is for one animal to get his meal by strategy and then be robbed of it while he sleeps. The robbed one usually retaliates. See Teit, op. ctl. pp. 71, 72; Dorsey and Kroeber, Traditions of the Arapaho, pp. 57, 58, etc.
3 A very widely distributed myth found in almost all Plains and Great Basin mvth- ologies. For a number of references, see Dorsey and Kroeber, Traditions of the Arapaho, p- 52.
20 Fournal of American Foltk-Lore.
tricks. He wished to learn this trick. He went on a ways and then thought he would try it. So he pulled out one eye, though it hurt him a great deal. He threw that eye up in the air and sang : —
In-sil-u-tsa-a, In-sil-u-tsa-a.
Oh my eyes come back, Oh my eyes come back. Now Wildcat found out that Coyote was doing this trick. Wildcat had a bone flint-flaker, and when Coyote threw up his eye Wildcat caught it on the bone point. Coyote sat there and sang “‘In-sil-u-tsa-a”” many times, but the eye did not come back. Then he threw up the other eye and Wildcat caught it also. Coyote sang the song, but the eyes did not come back.
Wildcat took Coyote’s eyes into the big village where all the animals lived. Coyote sang till night, but his eyes did not come back. He stayed there till morning. Next morning, as Coyote was lying on his belly in the sun, his penis stretched out and pricked his elbow. Soon his elbow swelled up large. Coyote took his bone awl and opened the swelling and a little boy came out. The little boy at once began to talk. Coyote told the little boy to get ready and thev would travel. So they started, and the little boy led Coyote.
Coyote said to the boy, “‘ Watch out for people, and if you see any wave at them tocome to us.”’ The little boy looked and saw some one going across the plain. He told Coyote, and Coyote waved his blanket and shouted. Soon the man stopped. Coyote shouted again and mo- tioned for the man to come. The man started towards them. When the man had come up close, the little boy said to Coyote, “He is a very big fellow.’ Coyote said to the man, ‘‘My son, come closer; I want to feel of you; I am blind.” He felt of the man all over. Now, Coyote had already told the boy to seize the man’§ legs and they two would throw him. So Coyote took hold of the man and they wrestled, then the boy seized the man’s leg and the man was thrown. Coyote then took out the man’s eyes and put them in his own head. The fellow who had lost his eyes lay on his back and cried. The blood caked in his eye- sockets. Coyote then said to the man, ‘“‘ You will have eyes, but they will be bloody ones.”’ So Coyote threw the man into some bushes, and said, “All that you will ever make is a catbird.”
Then Coyote killed the little boy and threw him away. He did not want to be bothered with him. Coyote then went on his travels.
In the afternoon Coyote came to a house. He was getting hungry, so he decided to go there and get something to eat. When Coyote got close to the house he heard singing. An old woman was singing this song:
Hi-yé-ye-a-hé — hi-yé-ye-a-hé.
This is a song of revenge, and the old woman was singing because Coyote had lost his eyes. Coyote heard all this. The old woman was
Myths of the Nez Perce Indians. 21
grinding sunflower seed as she sang. When Coyote entered he asked her, ‘‘What are you feeling so gay about?”? Now she did not know Coyote, so she answered, “‘Where have you been that you do not know they have Coyote’s eyes over in the camp and are dancing over them ?”’ He said, ‘‘What are you grinding so much of that food for?” She replied, ‘‘I have five young girls, and they went over to dance, but will be back to-night; that is the reason I am grinding so much.”
Coyote thought he would kill the old woman, so he picked up some sunflower heads from a shelf and with them he struck her in the pit of the stomach and killed her. Then he stripped off her clothes and put them and her fine hat upon himself. Then he dragged her down to the creek and threw her in. He ate all the sunflower seed she had ground, then he ground some more and cooked it. He only half ground the seed.
Soon he heard the girls coming home from the dance. Then by thought he created an old wound on his hip. When the girls came in they said, ‘‘Grandmother, the people want you to come up to the dance to-morrow.”” When they noticed that the seeds were not well ground, Coyote said the old wound bothered him so that he could not grind very well. The girls let this pass and said, ‘Grandmother, they want you to come over to-morrow and dance with Coyote’s eyes.”’ Coyote said he would go, but the girls would have to carry him. During the night he raped four of the girls without their knowledge, except the young- est one, who was safe. The four carried Coyote over to the dance, but the youngest would have nothing to do with him. Finally the girls got him over to the place where the dance was.
Now, another Coyote was at this large camp. He made a fine speech. “Look, everybody, the old woman comes to dance with Coyote’s eyes. Let the old woman have Coyote’s eyes and chew them and have fun with them.”’ So they gave to Coyote his own eyes and he danced around with them. Now there was a passageway kept open through the crowd. When Coyote came to that he ran out. Everybody chased him. Then they knew it was Coyote himself. He outran everybody but Fox, who was a good friend. When overtaken, he turned around and said, ‘‘ You go back; what do you want? Whom else will you get a chance to live with?”? Thus Coyote got back his eyes.
9. PORCUPINE AND COYOTE.’
Once Porcupine was going along the river bank looking for food. Soon he saw some fine, fat buffalo, ten of them, just across the river.
1 This myth is found in its fullest form in the Great Basin area. Here it is found from the Chilcotin in the north to the Jicarilla Apache and the Utes in the south. Fragments are found among the Plains and Pacific Coast tribes. See Farrand, Traditions of the Chilcotin, p. 40; Russell, “‘ Myths of the Jicarrilla Apache,” Jour. Am. Folk-Lore, vol. xi,
22 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
Then Porcupine wanted to get across the river, but could not. After some thought he called to the buffalo to stand in line. This was so that he could tell which one was the fattest. Then he picked out the fattest one and told him to swim across the river. When this buffalo came up to Porcupine, he asked Porcupine where he wanted to sit, on his back or on his tail. Porcupine answered, ‘I would rather be under your forelegs, so I shall not drown.” The buffalo agreed. When they were nearly across, Porcupine struck the buffalo under the foreleg with a large knife. So he killed that buffalo, but the others ran away.
Porcupine was looking for something with which to sharpen his knife. He was singing, “I wish I could find something with which to sharpen my knife, for I have n’t had any fat buffalo yet.” Now, Coyote happened to be going by and he heard Porcupine singing. Coyote came up to him and Porcupine was afraid. Coyote asked him what he was singing, and Porcupine answered, “I was not singing anything, I was just saying I wish I had some string for my moccasin.” Coyote said, ‘‘No, you did not say that; I heard what you said.” Porcupine said nothing more; so Coyote told him what he had killed. Coyote said, ‘“‘Now, I have a sharp knife, so I can help you.”” Then Coyote said, ‘Let us try jumping over the buffalo; the one who jumps over may have it all. I'll try first.”” Coyote succeeded, but Porcupine did not, so Coyote got all the meat. Then Coyote took his sharp knife and cut Porcupine’s head, but did not kill him.
Now, Coyote had some children: one of them was with him, and the rest were at home. Coyote said to his child, “‘I am going after the other children. You watch the old Porcupine, and if he gets up you call me and I will come back and kill him.’”’? When Coyote was gone, Porcupine got up. The young Coyote cried, ‘Father, Porcupine is up.” Then Coyote hurried back and asked his baby what the matter was. The child said, ‘‘ He was trying to take some of the buffalo meat, but now he is quiet again.”’ Coyote started off a second time. When he was a great way off Porcupine got up. The child called his father, but this time in vain. Porcupine struck the young Coyote with a stone and killed him. Then he sat the child up under a tree and stuffed his mouth full of buffalo fat. Then Porcupine took all the meat to the top of a tree and watched for Coyote and his family to come.
When Coyote with his wife and children had come up close, Coyote said to the children, ‘‘Look at your brother; he is eating and having a great time.” But when they arrived they saw that the baby was killed and had his mouth stuffed with fat. Then Coyote was very angry. He wondered where Porcupine had gone. When Coyote looked up he
p- 263; Kroeber, “‘ Ute Tales,” Jour. Am. Folk-Lore, vol. xiv, pp. 270-272; Dixon, Maidu Myths, pp. 83, 84; Dorsey, The Mythology of the Wichita, pp. 129, 130; Dorsey, Tra- ditions of the Osage, pp. 15-17.
Myths of the Nez Percé Indians. 23
saw Porcupine sitting in a tall tree laughing. Coyote said, ‘‘ Please come down;” but Porcupine answered, “I do not like you because you are trying to cheat me out of my buffalo meat.” Coyote said, “ Just give us a little piece of fat or meat.’’ Then Porcupine told Coyote and his family to all stand together under the tree. They did this. Then Porcupine dropped the buffalo head down on them and they were all killed. IO. UP A CREEK.
Coyote heard some one coming who was singing something. Then he saw that person coming and noticed that he was carrying half his leg on his back. Coyote then cut off his own leg and put it on his back, but he almost killed himself in so doing. When they met, the Half-a-Leg- Man * said to Coyote, “You are a brave man.”
Then they sat down. The man said to Coyote, ‘I will give you a little piece of meat.” Then Coyote outwitted him, for-he “wished” himself to become deer meat. Then Coyote told him, “I will treat you to a piece of meat.” ? Then that man turned his back to Coyote, and Coyote also turned his back and said, ‘‘ Let us eat.”? Coyote ate deer meat and the other fellow ate his own meat. Then the other fellow said, ‘‘ Well, at any rate, one of us is as bad as the other.’”’ For this answer Coyote did not kill him, and they went off in opposite directions.
II. COYOTE AND FOX.
They used to live together, Coyote and Fox.® Fox called something to mind. He said, “I think I will go look for them.”’ He went up a canyon early in the morning. There he saw a buck come running towards him wounded with arrows in both sides. When it was pretty close to him it dropped down dead. He went up to it, pulled out the arrows, and carefully washed all the blood off them. Then he laid them down in a nicé little pile. In a little while he saw the Wolves coming. The oldest one was in the lead, then came the next younger, then came the next in age to that one, then the next, and finally came the youngest of all. They said to Fox, “Old fellow, where are our arrows?’’ He re- plied to them, ‘There they are!’’ and they answered him, “Thank you! Now, we will take the arrows and leave the meat. You may have the deer and you may dress it.”” And so Fox dressed it and took it home.
1 The name of Half-a-Leg-Man in Nez Percé is Tsiltsilxosye. It may be connected with the name for squirrel.
? Another example, in which two persons agree to eat of each other’s flesh, and one - is deceived, may be found in Dixon, Maidu Myths, p. 86.
% The partnership of Coyote and Fox is prominent in the mythology of the Salish tribes of Idaho. See McDermott, Folk-Lore of the Flathead Indians of Idaho.
24 Fournal of Ameriuan Folk-Lore.
CATCH-WORDS FOR MYTHOLOGICAL MOTIVES.'
BY R. H. LOWIE.
In two recent articles on comparative mythology, Dr. Paul Ehrenreich has adopted the device of distinguishing certain common features of American folk-tales by appropriate catch-words. The advantages of a uniform terminology — of brief, unequivocal designations for wide- spread elements which are constantly referred to in mythological dis- cussions — are obvious. At the suggestion of Professor Boas I have compiled catch-words already sanctioned by usage, and endeavored to find suitable tags for some widely diffused motives. Owing to the character of the English language, an artificial nomenclature is less easily avoided than in German, which abounds in thoroughly idiomatic compound nouns. It is in the hope of stimulating revision and col- laboration that the following tentative lists are here presented.
CATCH-WORDS IN GENERAL USE, OR ALREADY SUGGESTED.
1. Orpheus. Grinnell, “‘ Blackfoot Lodge Tales,” p. xv. Ehrenreich, “Die Mythen u. Legenden der Siidamerikanischen Urvélker,” p- 70. 2. Visit (journey) to the sky. Boas, ‘‘Indianische Sagen von der nord-pacifischen Kiste Amerikas,” p. 278. Ehrenreich, ‘‘Mythen,” pp. 50, 78, 92. Kroeber, “Indian Myths of South Central California,” p. 174. Teit, ‘Traditions of the Thompson River Indians of British Columbia,” p- 136. 3. Bear and Deer. Kroeber, ‘‘S. C. Cal.” pp. 172, 174, ef passim. Dixon, “ Maidu Myths,” p. 79. 4. Thejt of fire. Kroeber, “‘S. C. Cal.” p. 173, e¢ passim. Ehrenreich, ‘“‘Gétter und Heilbringer,” Zeétschrift fur Ethnologie, 1906, p. 569. Teit, “Thompson River,” p. 135. Dorsey, ‘Traditions of the Skidi Pawnee,”’ p. 362. 5. Rolling skull (head). Kroeber, ‘‘S. C. Cal.” p. 178, et passim. Dorsey and Kroeber, ‘“‘ Traditions of the Arapaho,” pp. 19, 70. Dorsey, ‘‘Traditions of the Osage,” p. 21.
6. Rolling rock.
Dorsey and Kroeber, “Arapaho,” p. 69, and many others. 9. Evil father-in-law.
Kroeber, “‘S. C. Cal.” p. 174, e¢ passim.
1 Read at the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the American Folk-Lore Society, Chi- cago, Ill.
Catch-Words for Mythological Motzves. 25
8. Tar -baby. Chatelain, ‘‘Folk-Tales of Angola,” pp. 295, 315. Speck, ‘‘American Anthropologist,” 1907, p. 295. Mooney, ‘‘ Myths of the Cherokee,” p. 233. 9. World-fire (Sinbrand).
Kroeber, ‘‘S. C. Cal.” p. 176, ef passim. Ehrenreich, ‘‘Mythen,” pp. 16, 30, 40.
10. Turile’s war-party. Dorsey and Kroeber, ‘‘ Arapaho,” p. 237. Dorsey, “Osage,” p. 16; ‘‘The Mythology of the Wichita,” p. 230; “‘Skidi,”
Pp: 274-
11. Magic flight. Boas, ‘‘Sagen,”’ p. 352. Dorsey and Kroeber, ‘‘Arapaho,” p. 20. Bogoras, ‘‘Folk-Lore of N. E. Asia,’’? Amer. Anthrop. n. s. vol. iv, p. 626. Farrand, ‘‘Traditions of the Quinault Indians,” p. 80.
12. Arrow-chain. Boas, *‘Sagen,”’ p. 338. Ehrenreich, ‘‘Mythen,”’ pp. 49, 50, 76.
13. Trial oj strength. Boas, ‘‘Sagen,” p. 358.
14. Lijfe-token. Matthews, ‘‘Navaho Legends,” p. 296. Dorsey, ‘‘Skidi,”’ p. 363.
15. Swan-maid (Tylor: ‘‘swan-coat,” ‘“ Researches into the Early History of Mankind,” p. 355). European folk-lore. Ehrenreich, ‘‘Mythen,”’ p. 72. Frobenius, “‘ Zeitschr. f. Ethn.” 1906, p. 739.
16. Phaeton (Mink as sun-bearer). Boas.
17. Hare and tortoise (Hase und Swinegel). Ehrenreich, ‘‘Mythen,”’ p. 72.
18. Magic conception. Ehrenreich, ‘‘Gétter,” p. 6or. Teit, ‘‘ Thompson R.” p. 136.
19. Immaculate conception. Ehrenreich, ‘‘Mythen,” p. 47.
20. Deserted children. Dorsey and Kroeber, “Arapaho,” p. 293. Kroeber, ‘‘Gros Ventre Myths and Tales,” p. roa. Dorsey, ‘‘Skidi,”’ p. 345.
21. Spine-seat (Stachelsitz). Ehrenreich, ‘‘Mythen,” p. 49.
22. Sham eating (Scheinessen). Ehrenreich, ‘‘ Mythen,”’ p. 80.
23. Symplegades. Tylor, ‘‘Primitive Culture,” vol. i, p. 349. Ehrenreich, ‘‘Mythen,” p. 49.
26
Journal of American Folk-Lore.
24. Primeval flood (water).
Ehrenreich, ‘‘G6tter,’”’ p. 607. Kroeber, ‘‘S. C. Cal.” p. 179.
25. Deluge (flood). 26. Tom Thumb.
Curtin, ‘‘Creation Myths of Primitive America,” p. 493. Tylor, ‘‘Early History,” p. 346. Callaway, ‘‘Izinganekwane ”’ (Zulu Nursery Tales), p. 1.
27. Heaven-iree.
Tylor, ‘‘Early History,” p. 353-
28. Bridge oj the dead.
Tylor, ‘‘Early History,” p. 358. Applicable to Yokuts myth in Kroeber’s ‘‘ Myths of S. C. California,” p. 217.
29. Tail-fisher.
Tylor, ‘‘Early History,” p. 365.
PROPOSED CATCH-WORDS.
1. Bungling host.
The trickster fails in imitating his former hosts.
2. Evye-jugegler.
The trickster meets beings who send their eyes up a tree and make them return to their sockets again.
3. Gorgon.
An evil being kills people by its glance.
4. Rip Van Winkle.
The hero tarries as many years as he thinks he is staying days.
5. Babel.
Confusion of tongues.
6. Kidnapped brother. (Hidatsa, California.) 47. Jonah.*
The hero is swallowed by a monster.
8. Sucking monster (wolf, hill, etc.). 9. Blood-clot.
The hero originates magically from blood, spittle, mucus, a bead, etc.
10. Earth-diver.
An animal is sent to dive for mud, which is transformed into the earth.
11. Potiphar.? (Dakota, Assiniboine, Cree.)
The hero is wrongly accused of attempting the chastity of his older brother’s (father’s second) wife, who failed to seduce him.
12. Hoodwinked dancers.
The trickster kills birds whom he has persuaded to dance with closed eyes.
13. Sharpened-leg.
The man who sharpens his leg.
14. Blind dupe.
The blind hero shoots game, which is concealed by his wife.
1 Frobenius, 1906, p. 739. 7 Preferable to Riggs’s ‘‘Joseph,” because unequivocal. I find that Stucken, in his Astralmythen, p. 159, has also suggested the name “ Potiphar ’’ motive.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20. 2I.
Catch-Words for Mythological Motives. 27
The Deformed transformed. (The ugly duckling?)
The deformed, ugly, leprous, or filthy hero, despised by every one, suddenly becomes handsome. Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away.
One of the twins taken from his dead mother’s body is cast into the lodge, the other into a spring, log, etc. Dreadnaught.
The hero is warned by parent or guardian not to approach mengerous places, but sets requests at naught. Cliff-ogre.
A monster kicks travellers down a cliff, where they are eaten by its brood. Weird foundling.
A foundling develops strange powers.
Sur-trap.* Burr-woman.
A woman asks to be carried on a young man’s back, from which she cannot be dislodged.
22. Roc.
23.
24. 25. 26.
27.
28.
29.
30. 31.
A gigantic bird carries away human beings. Feather of safety. (Prairie, Navajo.)
The hero extricates himself from danger by wafting away on, or as, his magical feather. Sky-rope.
A rope used to ascend to, or climb from, the sky.
Fortunatus’ scrip.® A wallet holds infinite amount of property. (Dieguefio.)
Rodent ally. A rodent (mouse, gopher, etc.) aids the hero.
Achilles’ heel. A being is vulnerable in a single spot.
Hoarded game.
All the game or fish is originally kept by a single being. Protean beggar.
A man repeatedly begs for food in a different guise. Primeval game-close.
Invincible missile. A spirit is wounded by a man; the weapon is invisible to all save human medicine-men.
32. Recognition-test.
The hero is required to select his buffalo-wife or child from other buffalo.
CoLuMBIA University, New Yorx Crry.
1 Cf. Tylor’s “sun-catcher” Early History, p. 346. Ehrenreich’s ‘Sonnenfang,” Mythen, p. 96. | |
3 Dorsey, Skidt, p. 362.
3 If no better terms are found, “Fortunatus’ ——” might be used to denote anything inexhaustible, e. g. Fortunatus’ dish for inexhaustible food, etc.
28 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
A NOTE ON STAR-LORE AMONG THE NAVAJOS.'!
BY ALFRED M. TOZZER.
A RATHER extraordinary instance of Indian acumen occurred in connection with an observance of the ceremony of the Night Chant among the Navajos which took place some years ago.
The succession of rites in the ceremony occupying nine days and nine nights has been described exhaustively by the late Dr. Washington Matthews in his admirable Memoir, ‘‘'The Night Chant, a Navajo Ceremony.” I shall not therefore go into an account of the several rites occurring on the successive days. It is only with one of these that we are concerned, and even then with only a comparatively insig- nificant part of this rite, the place in the proceedings where a gourd rattle is manufactured and used to accompany the singing.
I will recall, however, that the celebration of the Night Chant as well as many of the other long ceremonies of the Navajos takes place in the late autumn or the beginning of winter, a season when the snakes are hibernating and other dangerous animals are in hiding and can work no harm. November is a favorite month for the Night Chant to be undertaken, and it was November when the special celebration @ por- tion of which interests us took place.
The three large sand pictures which are made on the last three days need only be mentioned, as it is in connection with these sand mosaics that the gourd rattle was used.
Gourd rattles are by no means uncommon among the Navajos. They are used in connection with all their ceremonies, and are repre- sented in the sand pictures as being carried by the gods. The sha- mans use them to accompany the chanting, and the masked dancers carry them in thcir dances. It is not known whether the special rattle in question was used only in connection with a special part of the rite, or whether it occurs in others as well. Dr. Matthews mentions a rattle decorated with evergreen, but he seems not to have seen the perforated rattle.
On the sixth day the first of the dry paintings was begun early in the morning. At the same time the rattle was prepared.
A hollow round gourd was furnished by the shaman from his supply of objects which he had brought with him for use in the different rites. A wooden handle was inserted into the gourd and small stones placed inside. The shaman then perforated the surface of the gourd with several small holes by means of the sharpened end of a bone. He did
1 Read at the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the American Folk-Lore Society, Chi- cago, Ill.
Al Note on Star-Lore among the Navajos. 29
this apparently at random, although, as will presently be seen, the results show that much care must have been taken in locating these holes.
On the lower half of the circular gourd the rude outline of a sheep with large horns was made with the same dot-like holes.
The Bighorn or mountain sheep figures prominently in the myths of the Navajos, and especially in those connected with this ceremony. According to the stories, they are sometimes hunted by the people, but very seldom with success, owing to a trembling seizing the hunter, or to the fact that the arrow refuses to leave the bow-string. These Bighorn sheep are in fact gods called the Bighorn gods or Ganaskidi. They have the power of assuming human form and also of changing people into beings like themselves. These gods are usually represented in the first of the three sand pictures with their horns. This picture is the one in connection with which the rattle was used. It is therefore very natural to find a realistic representation of the sheep upon the rattle.
These gods of the Bighorn sheep are associated with the heavens, being shown in connection with the lightning and the sunbeams. On the walls of their home in the cliff, according to the myth, clouds and lightning are painted. It will presently be seen how these facts furnish a second reason why we should expect to find a sheep represented upon the rattle.
Above the outline of this animal upon the gourd there were two groups of holes. These perforations seemed to have been scattered about quite at random and without any idea of representing a familiar object. In fact it was quite by chance that the relative positions of these holes were noted.
Figs. A and B in the illustration on p. 31 show these two large groups of perforations as they were found upon the rattle.
In talking with the Indians after the special rite was over in which the rattle was used, it was found that these groups of holes represented stars, two of the star gods of the Navajos.
In Fig. A the four stars at the top were explained as the head, and the seven stars situated in a long reversed curve below as the body, of the god of the North.
Passing to Fig. B, the upper group of eight stars and the next lower cluster of four represented, according to the Indian explanation, the feathers attached to the mask of the god as shown in the sand pictures and also seen in the dances when the masks are decorated. The five stars, four of which are in line, under the second group, composed the head of the god. The arms or hands were the two stars widely separated at either side of this head. The three stars in line were, the body, and the two stars separated at the bottom the feet, of the same god. The name of this god was unfortunately not obtained.
With the assistance of Professor W. H. Pickering, I have been able
30 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
to identify these stars. There is no doubt as to the ones which are repre- sented on the rattle, as the coincidences are too many between the grouping of the dots upon the gourd and the actual appearance in the heavens to believe that chance enters into the question.
Groups A’ and B’ are rough copies ftom Schwieg’s “‘Tabule Czlestes.”’
Group A’ shows the stars as they appear at midnight in the month of November in the northern sky. It will be remembered that the cere- mony is performed usually in this month, and the Navajos identified the stars as representing their god of the North, a most pleasing con- firmation of the power of observation possessed by primitive man.
The upper cluster in Fig. A is undoubtedly to be identified as the constellation of Auriga, with Capella, a star of the first magnitude, as the lowest of the four. One of the stars of this constellation is not represented upon the rattle, that drawn with a circle in Fig. A’. The first two stars some distance below are minor ones, which appear, how- ever, as may be seen by comparing Fig. A’. Then follows a curious partial representation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The northern- most pointer is omitted and Merak is the only one of the two base stars shown. The stars omitted, on the rattle are shown in Fig. A’ by circles. This omission must have been intentional, as the stars left out are as great in magnitude as those represented, and they would naturally attract as much attention as the others. The reason for this selection I am unable to explain.
The three stars composing the handle of the “‘ Dipper” are faithfully shown.
Fig. B’ gives the second large group of stars as they actually appear in the heavens, and this we will compare with Fig. B, the grouping on the rattle.
Here again an identification is easy.
The two clusters at the top form a part of the constellation of Taurus. The upper of the two groups of stars of Fig. B is readily recognized as the Pleiades. Here the Indian has added two extra stars. If there had been but one in excess of the six, we could have said that here the Navajo finds the lost Pleiad which was anciently supposed to have disappeared from the group, and which has been celebrated in legend and in song. This addition of the two extra stars, however, in this case was probably due to carelessness in making the perforations.
The second cluster is called the Hyades, a portion of the same con- stellation of Taurus, with Aldebaran the striking star. Here the holes in the rattle conform with great exactness to the actual grouping. One of the smaller stars is omitted on the rattle.
In the group of five stars composing the head of the Navajo god we actually find five minor stars in much the same general grouping. The
‘TILLVY NO SONIXUVW GNV Sav avics
e @ . e ® @ e e re) @ e e e e ad ° @ ® @ e e ‘ @ e r . e e eee * ans F e e =e e °° : : > e @ : eo? @ ss ae ® ee e ye: | | Bla P | Bta
32 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
body and the hands and feet of the god are readily recognized as forming the constellation of Orion, with Rigel, the double white star of the first magnitude, as the left hand, the bright red Betelgeuze as the right foot, and the so-called belt of Orion as the body, of the god.
These stars appear in the southeastern sky in the early evening in November. Here again there is accord in regard to the month when the stars are to be seen and the time when the ceremony takes place. We cannot state, however, that these stars represent the Navajo god of the South, as in the former case with the god of the North.
With the single exception of the number of stars in the Pleiades, the Indian grouping, as shown by the holes in the gourd rattle, approaches with remarkable exactness the actual appearance of the heavens of the north and southeast in the month of November.
The keen sense of observation is perhaps what one might expect among the Navajos when he finds it paralleled by a strict and unvarying conformity to tradition in connection with all their religious life.
I have pointed out in a previous paper’ how the sand pictures of this same people have remained unchanged down to the minutest detail of their complex structure for a score or more of years, although memory alone is the only permanent record of their figures.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MAss.
1 Transactions of the Thirteenth International Congress of Americanists, New York, 1902.
An Athabascan Tradition 33
AN ATHABASCAN TRADITION FROM ALASKA.!
AN old man, his wife, and two sons lived in the valley between the Koyukuk and Yukon. The man had become too old to go out any longer, and told his boys that they must travel alone. They answered that they wished to go.
In the morning they found a porcupine track. Following this down stream, they came to a large river running full of ice. At the edge of the water the track disappeared. The brothers leaped on a cake of ice and floated down stream. Landing again and looking for food, they found a fish that had been left on the ice, and saw many sled-tracks. They followed these. Then they heard faint weeping. Going on cautiously, they saw a porcupine carrying a load. Coming close, they asked it why it cried. When it did not answer, they clubbed it dead, cooked it, and ate it.
Going on, they saw a village. An old woman came out, saw them, and called to the people of the village to prepare food for them. The brothers entered a large house, where an old man was seated on a caribou-skin. They sat down on each side of him on caribou-skins and were given food. Seeing only young women, besides the old man and woman, the brothers asked where the young men were. The young women said that there were none, but that they could do many difficult things that even men could hardly do. The older brother boasted that they could not overcome him, but the young women answered that they were only explaining why they did not need men.
In the morning the young women went hunting. The brothers went with them. Then the women outran the older brother and teased him. Becoming angry, he said, —
“You cannot do one thing. Stand at a distance and shoot at me. If I am not hit, I will shoot at you.”
The younger tried to interpose, warning him of the women’s ability; but the older remained angry and insisted. The women finally con- sented. When they shot, he leaped, but four arrows struck him together and he fell dead. The younger brother mourned for him.
When he wished to return and asked the way, he was told that it was dangerous, and the monsters he would meet were described to him. Nevertheless he started.
After going some time, he saw a cliff with the nest of enormous birds. The old ones were away, but he found a young eagle.
1 Contributed as part of the Proceedings of the California Branch of the American Folk-Lore Society.
This tradition is communicated through Rev. W. A. Brewer of Burlingame, Cal. The author, one of his pupils, is from a Yukon tribe which he calls Tonidzughultsilhnu.
VOL. XXI. — NO. 80. 3
34 Journal of American Folk-Lore.
‘“What do your parents do when they come?” he asked.
‘“When they come,’ the eaglet answered, ‘“‘it becomes dark, it blows, and there is thunder. When it is my mother, it rains. When it is my father who comes, it hails.”
Then the young man killed the young bird. He waited. It became dark, and thundered, and rained, while the air was blown against him by the beating of the great bird’s wings. The young man shot it, and springing forward killed it with his moose-horn club. When the other bird came, he killed it too.
He went on until he came to a porcupine as high as a hill, which was in a cave through which the young man must travel. He could find no way around. Hiding outside the cave, he made a noise. The porcupine started to back out, lashing its tail against the mountain- side until the tail was bare of its enormous quills. Then as it emerged the voung man shot it and clubbed it to death.
Going on, he saw tracks of an enormous lynx. This the women had told him was the strongest of the monsters. Here, too, he tried to go around, but could not. Then he tried to shoot it, but the lynx caught his arrows with its claws. Seeing his attempts were in vain, he waited for death. Then the lynx ordered him to clear away the snow so it could sit at ease while devouring him, and to heap up wood by which it could cook him. The young man did this, but the lynx told him to gather more firewood. The young man gathered, going farther each time. Then he heard some one say, —
“Brother, quickly stand on my back and I will carry you away.”
“Where are you?” he asked.
“Here.”
Looking down, he saw an ermine at his feet. “I will kill you if I step on your back,” he said.
‘No, jump on me. I will carry you.”
Then he jumped strongly, but the ermine did not even move.
“Your back is too small. I cannot sit on it.”
“‘Lay a stick across ‘my back, and put another across my neck for your feet.”
He laid the sticks across the ermine and sat down. Immediately it carried him to his house.
The young man’s parents rejoiced to see him. In gratitude they gave the ermine a shell necklace. That is why the ermine has white around its neck.
Arthur Wright.
Notes on California Folk-Lore. 35
NOTES ON CALIFORNIA FOLK-LORE.'
A LUISENO TALE.’
MANY years past people whose name was Nahyam were living in Atami. One of them had a son, who grew up and became wise and excelled every one in witchcraft. He understood the language of the wild animals, and when he became a grown-up man, married, and lived together with his wife.
One day he went to a mountain known as Kolo, and on arriving there saw much yucca. And then he dug up yucca-heads, and roasted them, and worked hard all day, and got thirsty and hungry. And then he remembered a pond of water known as Pavawut’s house, and went there to that water.
He was very tired and thirsty, and though he knew well that no one used to go to that water, all being afraid of it, as it was said to be where the Pavawut lived, — yet, knowing that, he went there. He had great faith in his witchcraft (po-pula), and on coming to the water spoke be- fore drinking. He asked permission and knelt to drink, and his elut fell from his head into the water. Seeing it in the water, he entered to recover it, and was carried away to a dry place.
And there he saw a black-rattlesnake, and went to him, and the rattlesnake asked him what he was going around there for.
He said, ‘‘I come looking for my elut.”’ Then the rattlesnake said to him, ‘Pass on ahead. Your aunt is there.”” The man passed to where his aunt (po-pamai) was, and went to her. She was making a basket. He said, “‘How are you, my aunt?”’ And she said, “ How are you, my nephew (no-alamai)? What are you going around here for?” And the man said, “Yes, my aunt, I am looking for my elut.” And then his aunt said to him, “ Pass on ahead, there is your cousin (o-yuk- sum), the Pavawut.” And he went to the Pavawut, and said to it, “‘ How are you, my cousin?” And the Pavawut did not answer him, and he sat on the ground, and he was about to faint with thirst and hunger. And the Pavawut knew that he was hungry and thirsty.
And the Pavawut stood up, and took a small shell, and dipped up water and gave it to the man.
And he took it discontentedly, seeing the small shell; but though he drank much, he did not finish it, and he stayed a little. And then the Pavawut gave him honey again in that same small shell. And the
* Contributed as part of the Proceedings of the California Branch of the American Folk-Lore Society.
? Translated from a Luisefio text. This appears to be the only traditional tale re- corded in full by the author, whose death took place May 19, 1907. The text will be published with his studies of the Luisefio language.
36 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
man ate much and did not finish it. And he filled himself, and remained some days with the Pavawut. And the Pavawut knew the man was wishing to go away, and did not wish to tell him. And in the morning it said to him, ‘‘ My cousin, you are going away now, and I will paint your body.’”’ And then it painted him.
And the Pavawut said to him, ‘‘Now you are going away this day, and I will tell you positively. You will tell nobody what you have seen here, or that you have been in my house. If they should ask you if you have been in my house, or if you have seen me, you will say you have not seen me. I tell you that no one has ever been in my house at any time, except you. Should you tell any one that you have been in my house, you will be bitten by a black-rattlesnake, and you will die at that place. And you will be put in the valley, and at that place will burst out water.’? And the man heard all that the Pavawut said, and it again repeated to him that he should tell nobody; should he tell, that a black-rattlesnake would bite him.
And his relations were looking for him in his house, and they did not know where he had gone.
And the Pavawut said to him, ‘Already it is best that you may go, my cousin.” And the man was looking up to see where he might go out, and he saw a small light.
And the Pavawut said to him, ‘‘Go here,” and took him and showed him where to go, and the Pavawut went back. And then the man went away. He thought that he would go out at the place where he had entered, but he went out at another place far away. And at that place where he went out he remained a little, and then went to his house at Atami. And at that place where he jumped out, water burst out, and its name was Person where he jumped out. And the man arrived suddenly at his house at Atami, and his wife did not know what to do when she saw him, also all his relations.
And that night he slept with his wife, and all the night she contin- ually asked him to tell her where he had been; and the man did not wish to tell her, as he knew well that he would die if he did so. And it got light on them.
And the next day his wife continually questioned him, and he did not wish to tell her; but at last he thought that he would tell, and then he notified his wife and got together all his relations and notified them where he had been.
And then his relations cried: they all knew that a black-rattlesnake would bite him. And after he had finished his speech, the man went outside, and a black-rattlesnake bit him.
And they put him in the valley and cremated him, and at that place burst out water. Now it still runs at that place the same.
P. S. Sparkman.
Notes on Calfornia Folk-Lore. 37
WIYOT FOLK-LORE.
THE Wiyot Indians live on and near Humboldt Bay in northwestern California. They are the people whose myths have been discussed in this Journal under the designation Wishosk. This name, while fre- quently used by ethnologists, appears to rest on a misconception. It has been thought to be the term applied to these people by their Atha- bascan neighbors, but is evidently their designation for the Athabas- cans. They lack any national designation of their own, though they call their language sulatlek. Wiyot, or a modification of this term, is the name by which they or their territory are most frequently called in the speech of those families of Indians who are cognizant of them, and has some literary usage.
Both men and women were shamans, but the best were women. Men had female supernatural helpers, women male supernatural helpers. These spirits were called wishidiekwa. The prospective shaman sat by a spruce-tree on a mountain at night. When she went back, she might be followed by her supernatural helper, who gave her her song. If she failed to be met by a spirit, she might go again some other night. Some shamans received their power easily. As the shaman sat on the moun- tain by the large fire which she had made, she would go to sleep, dream, and receive her song.
In doctoring, the shaman wears a headdress of two strings of feathers. This is tied around the forehead over the eyes, and the feathers fall on each side of the face, nearly to the waist. Shamans have long condor wing-feathers which they swallow until they disappear. They do this to make the disease go out from the patient more readily. The disease, objects or “pains,” silak, are like worms, and animate. They are “like obsidian,” that is transparent or glassy, but soft like saliva, and of various colors. Sometimes they are quite small, sometimes as long as a joint of the thumb. The shaman dances beside his patient, leaning on a stick and holding his long wing-feather. He uses no rattle or whistle, but sings. The dancing enables him to locate the seat of the disease. To a good shaman the patient’s whole body is transparent. After dancing, the shaman, or another, a sucking shaman, sucks the patient and extracts the “pain,’’ which he shows. Then he closes his hand and sings. After singing, he blows on his hand and opens it. It is empty. He has made the “‘ pain” disappear by telling it to go away.
Sometimes the shaman sucks, not a “‘pain,” but blood. It is thought that too much black blood causes sickness. Too much fat is also dreaded as a cause of disease, as it crowds the internal organs.
Plant-medicines seem to be considerably used, being soaked in water, which is drunk. These medicines are derived from Gusheridalewi.
An Athabascan woman from Bridgeville, married to an Athabascan
38 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
man from Dyerville, was taken sick at Loleta some years ago. Her husband paid two Wiyot shamans, a man and a woman, fifteen dollars and a horse. The man shaman danced and saw the pains in the patient’s
body and described them. He said that the woman’s tribe, the people of Bridgeville, were bad and wished to kill her. Her dead relatives, especially a recently deceased daughter, were pursuing her and “kept her shut.” The patient had for some time been suffering with pains at the back of her head, and at the present time was sick also in her stomach. The doctor said also that he saw a mountain near Bridge- ville, on top of which was a rock. On this rock were horns, among which he saw the patient sitting. Then the woman shaman sucked from the patient’s forehead, through her pipe, a disease-object something like a spider, without legs, but with a number of curved horns. It was as large as half the palm of a hand. From the patient’s stomach she sucked something like a small water-dog or salamander. Then the patient recovered.
Powerful supernatural beings are called wakirash, or yagabichirakw. Among such are the inhabitants of lakes. When one of these takes pity on a man, he becomes physically strong and fierce.
Women in labor spoke, or had spoken for them, a formula which consisted of a myth regarding the culture-hero’s first causing women to give birth. The plant thought to have been used on this occasion by the culture-hero was eaten by Wiyot women in order to make the child small and easy to bear.
Persons to be purified from contact with a dead body washed with roots called sisuloiyatgaktl, probably angelica.
Self-restraint was most important to success in life. People did not speak loudly or cry out without necessity. A man who was warm did not drink a large quantity of cold water, fearing to die. A man would be moderate in his eating.
Like the Yurok, the Wiyot are very careful not to eat while in a boat on the ocean. After crossing the bar into Humboldt Bay, they may eat.
The Wiyot held the usual ideas prevalent in northwestern California as to the incompatibility of sexual relations and anything connected with deer. A man who had slept with a woman did not eat deer for five days, or he would not live long.
A dance replacing among the Wiyot the jumping-dance of the Yurok and Hupa was held indoors, and lasted about five days. It was held at a place called Hieratgak, at the present shipyards on Humboldt Bay; but it is not known whether, like the jumping-dance, it could be held only at this or certain other particular spots. At this dance obsidian blades were used, but were hung by strings on the breast instead of being held in the hand, as in the deerskin-dance of the Hupa
Notes on California Folk-Lore. 39
and Yurok. It is said that a woman shaman stood in the middle of the dancers.
There was anelaborate ceremony at the puberty of girls, with dancing for five nights. For five days the girl sat indoors with her head covered, so as not to look at the fire. At the end of the ceremony a number of women accompanied her to still salt water, as in Humboldt Bay, which they entered to about the waist, standing abreast and holding each others’ arms. Then they danced by bending their bodies forward re- peatedly, causing waves like small breakers to roll inshore. According to another informant, the dancing lasted ten days, during which period the girl fasted.
White or albino deer, whose skins were a great treasure, were regarded by the Wiyot, as by the Yurok and Hupa, as living in the sky and coming to the earth only occasionally, when they might be seen or killed by a lucky person, especially a rich man. The creator, Above- old-man, who made the white deer and keeps them in the sky, would not allow a poor man to see one.
Salmon are different for each stream, even though they all have the same shape and appearance. The old salmon come up the stream, spawn there, the eggs hatch out, and in winter the young salmon come down the stream into the ocean. Next year they are grown and come back. A salmon arrives at a stream and smells of it with his two nostrils. ‘That is not where I was born,” he says, and goes on until he comes to the mouth of his own stream, which he recognizes and ascends.
The sacred or ritualistic number of the Wiyot, like that of the other Indians of northwestern California, is five or its multiple ten.
Two redwood-trees on the north fork of Mad River, not far from Blue Lake, were regarded as being persons.
White people are called dikwa. This word appears to have reference to the supernatural. A medicine-man’s guardian spirit is called wishi- diekwa. The “poison” or supernatural means of killing an enemy is called dikwa or dikwa-getl. Menstruation is dikwa-lakwetl. The hero of a myth is called Dikwa-giterai.
Dark-colored stone pipe-bowls were called female; if light-colored, they were called male.
Red obsidian with black streaks in it was called a woman who had not washed at puberty, when she was rasha-wiliyur.
Stars, gumerachk, are also called wenewelir, sky-eyes. The stars trembling in the sky are women working. They are chopping their digging-sticks to sharp points to dig boderush roots. In the morning when they go to dig, in the daylight, they are blind. At night they can see again.
A. L. Kroeber.
SAN FRANCISCO.
40 Fournal of American Foltk-Lore.
A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CEREMONY.
A FEW years ago an old Yokuts on Tule River reservation was ques- tioned regarding rcligious matters. This man had lived many ycars at Tejon, and had been in Southern California. In the course of other matters he mentioned the following practice of the Shoshoncan Indians not far from Los Angeles.
Near the coast, at San Fernando, there was a ceremony in which twelve men were strong and could make sickness. They had four strings, one on cach side of a square. There were three men on each side; that made twelve, and onc in the middle made thirteen. The man in the middle made a painting like the earth. It was like a map. This man in the middle had strings, the ends of which were held by the twelve other men. When the sickness [i. ec. the ritual to produce sickness] was made ready, he shook the strings and the earth shook. It was an earthquake. This thing was strong, and was done to make some one sick. I saw it at San Fernando when I was a boy.
The feature of special intercst in this account is the reference to the painting, which shows that some form of the symbolic reprcscntation of the world, made of colors spread on the ground, extended as far north from the Dicguefio and Luischo, among whom it has been described, as Gabriclino territory. The informant’s own words were that the man in the middle “‘ painted like carth.” At the time this was understood to mean that he painted his body with some form of mincral resembling earth. His following words, “‘like a map,” and what has since become known of the nature of the ground-paintings of Southern California, show, however, that the present account refers only to another instance
of the same practice. A. L. Kroeber.
SAN FRANCISCO.
DIEGUENO IDENTIFICATION OF COLOR WITH THE CARDINAL POINTS.
THERE scems to exist among the Mission Indians of Southern Cali- fornia an identification of the four cardinal dircctions with as many colors. A first suggestion of possible connection in the Dicgueno mind comes to light in certain of the songs accompanying the Eagle dance, which has been spoken of by writers on the Dicgueno and Luiscfio. “The white cagle,” for instance, “puts his nest on cliffs. The cagle from the west puts his nest on sycamorc-trees along the edge of the crecks.”
Two things are to be noticed at once in this song. In the first place, the cliffs mentioned arc the cliffs among the descrt mcesas far to the cast of the Dicgucrio country. The locality permanently inhabited by these people in eastern San Dicgo county is rolling foothill country, even at the edge of the occan beach. In the second place, the cagle from the
Notes on Caltfornia Folk-Lore. 4I
west is set over in intentional contrast to the eastern white eagle, showing that he occurs to the native mind as black. When the old men also in witching an eagle to death during the Eagle ceremony happen to use a white bird, they ‘‘send him east,’’ in the words of one of the oldest dancers; “‘and when they kill a black eagle, they send him west.” This distinction of color in ‘‘east”’ and “‘west”’ is carried out in the ancient world-painting made on the ground by the Dieguefio at the time of the boys’ initiation into the number of dancers. In one type of picture @ prominent feature is the representation of two great rattlesnakes, bisecting the painting from the east and west, their heads meeting at the centre. The eastern snake is made in light-colored oxide of iron, precipitated by the mineral springs of the region, the western in black straw-charcoal.
Miss Du Bois, in her Chaup story in this Journal for 1904, reports a corresponding color-concept for the north and the south. To quote (p. 218), “‘the elder sister, who was a witch doctor and knew every- thing, stood up and held her hand to the north and brought down a red stone. . . . Then she held up her hands to the south and got a blue stone of the same sort.’? Later in the same story (p. 226), the colors for east and west are described. “The boys ... stood and held their hands to the east and got some white clay, and with it they painted their cheeks. Then they held their hands to the west, and got some black clay.”’ Further acquaintance with Dieguefio mythology would undoubtedly reveal further instances of this feeling concerning colors.
The complete color system is given in a certain medicine or formula of the “clothes burning” or wukeruk ceremony, one of the mourning rites for the dead, where all four directions are accounted for. The medicine is as follows.
Recited by the man who makes the medicine: ‘‘From the north he (the first man making the ceremony) brought a red rock, from the east a gleaming white rock, from the south a green rock, and from the west a black rock, because the sun sets there. Then he sang, ‘My father and grandfather are dead, so now I sing.’
““ Menai dispah tcawai tcawi Menai dispah tcawai tcawt
(Pointing) Xtol kawak enyak awik Amai amut!”
“‘ Now dead a long time, I begin to sing. Now dead a long time, I begin to sing. North, South, East, West,
Up, Down!”
Tne colors blue (mentioned by Miss Du Bois) and green (obtained by the writer) are regularly identified or not distinguished by the Dieguefio,
42 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
and perfect agreement therefore exists between the two accounts. The feeling concerning black for the west comes plainly from the setting of the sun. The east, in similar terms, may quite likely be ‘‘ gleaming white,” because the sun rises there. Why north is red and south green, however, the present writer is unable to guess, since no Indian could be found who would attempt an explanation.
Thomas Waterman. SAN FRANCISCO.
LUCK-STONES AMONG THE YANA.
THE Yana Indians, who lived in the northern part of California east of the Sacramento River, would often pick up small stones known as ‘Onunuip!ad (etymology uncertain, but cf. ‘dnu-, “to dig out’’), that were characterized by peculiarities of color, markings, or shape. Those of round shape and such as had light-colored bands (interpreted as rattlesnakes) were particularly sought. They were believed to bestow good luck upon their finder and possessor in whatever pursuit he required their aid, — the cure of disease, hunting, gambling, and the like. As a rule, the possession of these luck-stoncs was kept a secret, as indicated, for instance, by the fact that they were not kcpt in the house, but in some secluded spot in the woods known only to their possessor. The women made small cylindrical baskets for their reception. The material of these baskets was mercly the twigs of the Douglas spruce, the needles being left on; in construction they were open-work twined, the thin twigs serving as parallel perpendicular warp clements, thinner peeled strips as woof, while the needles served as a sort of thatch to fill up the open-work interstices. As regards sizc, they were about five or six inches in height and two inches in diameter, in general appearance not unlike a bird’s nest. The spruce basket, with its luck-stones, was not placed on the ground, but was hidden up in a tree, so that no onc might touch it. If one desired to obtain some of the magic power resident in the luck-stones, as, for instance, when preparing for a gambling contest, the hands were wetted and carefully rubbed over them, the knowledge of this action being carefully kept from all.
Still more potent than the ‘énunuzpld were small, white prismatic rocks, generally of quartz. These were known as k/u’lmats!i, trans- lated by the informant as ‘“‘diamonds” (see Curtin, “Creation Myths of Primitive America,” p. 473). As there is nothing to show that either the ‘dnunuipla or klulmats!t were directly worshipped, or even explicitly associated with spirits giving them their supernatural power, it is per- haps best to refrain from using the word “‘fetishism” in connection with them.
Edward Sapir.
BERKELEY.
——
om =. ed al ad
Diseases among the Mackenzie River Eskimo. 43
NOTES ON THE THEORY AND TREATMENT OF DIS- EASES AMONG THE MACKENZIE RIVER ESKIMO.
BY V. STEFANSSON.
THE following notes were collected among the Eskimo east of the mouth of the Mackenzie River.
Formerly among the Mackenzie River Eskimo there were numerous “medicine-men.” Their arts are practised — but with little faith — by men who look upon their own ministrations about as we do upon our efforts for an invalid’s well-being at a time when a physician cannot be reached. The recent contact with missionaries, and intercourse with whalers since 1889 (and fur-traders a little earlier), have decreased the faith in magical practices, but not in counter-irritation and bleeding. The blood-letter’s knife is the Eskimo’s cure-all.
In general, so far as I could understand it, diseases are caused by “bad blood.” The logical cure for most diseases is therefore bleeding. The incision is usually (but not always) over the seat of pain. In the first operation they seem satisfied with drawing a small quantity of blood ; but if a second cutting becomes necessary, or a third one, more is drawn each time. The cutting is done by any one present who happens to have a sharp knife, or who is skilful through practice in performing these operations. Sometimes the patient himself does the cutting.
Most people are sick at one time or another. Especially as old age approaches do pains of various sorts become troublesome. A man or woman beyond middle life is therefore sure to have scars on various parts of the body. On one man’s back alone I counted over. twenty. Some of them, as nearly as could be learned, had been made for pleurisy, but others for rheumatism. Consumptives are cut both on the breast and back. Ordinarily the cuts are horizontal, and some scars I have seen indicate wounds two inches long. Certain kinds of pain are treated with vertical cuts. Boils, so far as my observation goes, are cut hori- zontally across the middle, the cut going as far to either side as the margin of the redness which surrounds the boil. The boil might be said to be bisected to base level.
The theory of disease depending on bad blood sometimes presents interesting variations. Snow-blindness, for instance, is described as follows: In winter, on account of the fact that the hood of the coat does not protect the front or top of the forehead forward of the cheek-bones, the blood is forced back by the cold from the eyes and temples to the top of the head; there it remains, thickened for the want of the sun’s light and heat. In the spring, when the sun comes back after its midwinter stay below the horizon, the blood is gradually thinned out, and begins
44 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
to flow back of the forehead and eyes. The influx of this blood, which is now “bad,” causes snow-blindness. The logical thing, of course, is to intercept it on its way down, to prevent its reaching the eyes. This is done by horizontal cuts just above each eyebrow, thus tapping the flow that would otherwise reach the eye-sockets, causing the violent pains and other symptoms of snow-blindness. But the trouble is that one can never tell when this downward spring flow of blood will start. If one cuts too early, the bleeding ceases before the bad blood comes down, and therefore does no good; if one waits for the first symptoms of snow-blindness (as one must do in practice), the cutting may come too late. If the operation fails to prevent the disease (it is not intended to cure, but merely to prevent), it is because it has been performed too late, or after large quantities of the bad blood had gotten into the eye-sockets.
When earache is caused in the ordinary way, — by bad blood, — it is treated by having a vertical cut, about an inch long and freely skin-deep, made in front of the affected ear over the prominence of the cheek-bone. Headache is treated with scalp-cuts over the seat of pain.
A native of Cape York, Alaska, a man who had lived for five years among the Mackenzie River people, gave me the following information regarding headache. He assured me that this theory is held both at Cape York and on the Mackenzie River.
Occasionally headache and carache have a far more serious cause than bad blood. If one sleeps with his ear on or near the ground, a pebble will sometimes get into one’s ear. Apparently people are not agreed as to whether they always get there in a natural (or mechanical) way, or whether the pebble jumps up or otherwise exerts itself to get into jhe ear-passage. However that may be, it is certain that, once in, it begins eating its way inward, devouring the substance of the head, so that in some cases, when people die after protracted headache, their heads are so light that people know them to be absolutely empty, eaten clean by the voracious little stone.
When a pebble once has gotten in, cutting will of course do no good, for that merely removes “bad blood.” Seal oil is therefore poured into the ear. This apparently numbs the pebble, thus preventing its eating away at the inside of the head. Fat disagrees with it, and tends to drive it out. To facilitate the egress, one should lie with the afflicted ear down. The pebble will usually drop out, though it does not always do so. Prevention is better than cure, so one should never camp on ground, or sleep, where a pebble is anywhere near one’s ear.
At childbirth, especially if it be the first child, a boy is to be desired above all things. If one girl is already in the family, the arrival of a second is not greatly to be desired, for one son-in-law is sufficient support for one’s old age. Possibly it is because a son is always more longed for than a daughter (no matter how welcome she may be), that good
Diseases among the Mackenzte River Eskimo. 45
fortune is so often changed to a worse immediately after birth, for it frequently happens that a child which is born a boy is found a few hours later to be a girl. It more rarely occurs that a child born a girl becomes a boy later in the day. In view of this possible transmutation of sex, it is customary for neighbors and friends to inquire about the sex of the child, both immediately after birth and a few hours later. If a father who was beaming an hour ago now looks glum, it may be that the mother or child is seriously ill, but more probably his little son has become an infant daughter.
If there is a normal presentation, childbirth is ordinarily easy; and the mother seems reasonably well an hour following, — is able to go about her ordinary work. Nevertheless she is under restrictions, the most noticeable of which are those in regard to diet. Although the other members of the household eat raw fish chiefly, hers will always be cooked, and preferably in snow-water. Her drinking-water should not be ordinary water, nor yet melted from ice, but melted from snow. Some say the snow should be melted over an oil-lamp, but others say it makes no difference how it is melted.
In most cases of illness, one should eat only cooked food. The writer saw this in cases of eye trouble, kidney disease, and an abdominal wound from a knife.
New YorkK CIty.
46 Journal of American Folk-Lore.
PHILIPPINE FOLK-TALES.' BY CLARA KERN BAYLISS.
I. THE MONKEY AND THE TURTLE.?
ONE day a Monkey met a Turtle on the road, and asked, “ Where are you going?”
“I am going to find something to eat, for I have had no food for three whole days,”’ said the Turtle.
“T too am hungry,” said the Monkey ; “and since we are both hungry, let us go together and hunt food for our stomachs’ sake.”
They soon became good friends and chatted along the way, so that the time passed quickly. Before they had gone far, the Monkey saw a large bunch of yellow bananas on a tree at a distance.
“Oh, what a good sight that is!” cried he. “Don’t you see the bananas hanging on that banana-tree? [pointing with his first finger toward the tree]. They are fine! I can taste them already.”
But the Turtle was short-sighted and could not see them. By and by they came near the tree, and then he saw them. The two friends were very glad. The mere sight of the ripe, yellow fruit seemed to assuage their hunger.
But the Turtle could not climb the tree, so he agreed that the Monkey should go up alone and should throw some of the fruit down to him. The Monkey was up in a flash; and, seating himself comfortably, he began to eat the finest of the fruit, and forgot to drop any down to the Turtle waiting below. The Turtle called for some, but the Monkey pretended not to hear. He ate even the peelings, and refused to drop a bit to his friend, who was patiently begging under the tree.
At last the Turtle became angry, very angry indeed: “so he thought he would revenge”’ (as my informant puts it). While the Monkey was having a good time, and filling his stomach, the Turtle gathered sharp, broken pieces of glass, and stuck them, one by one, all around the banana-tree. Then he hid himself under a cocoanut-shell not far away. This shell had a hole in the top to allow the air to enter. That was why the Turtle chose it for his hiding-place.
The Monkey could not eat all the bananas, for there were enough to last a good-sized family several days; ‘‘but he ate all what he can,” and by and by came down the tree with great difficulty, for the glass was so sharp that it cut even the tough hand of the Monkey. He had a
1 In these legends, in a few instances, the exact phrases of the narrators have been
retained for the sake of their quaintness. * Obtained from José Teodoro, Bay, Laguna, P. I.
Philippine Folk-Tales. 47
hard time, and his hands were cut in many places. The Turtle thought he had his revenge, and was not so angry as before.
But the Monkey was now very angry at the trick that had been played upon him, and began looking for the Turtle, intending to kill him. For some time he could not find his foe, and, being very tired, he sat down on the cocoanut-shell near by. His weariness increased his anger at the Turtle very much.
He sat on the shell for a long time, suffering from his wounds, and wondering where to find the Turtle, — his former friend, but now his enemy. Because of the disturbance of the shell, the Turtle inside could not help making a noise. This the Monkey heard ; and he was surprised, for he could not determine whence the sound came. At last he lifted his stool, and there found his foe the Turtle.
“Ha! Here you are!” he cried. ‘Pray now, for it is the end of your life.”
He picked up the Turtle by the neck and carried him near the river- bank, where he meant to kill him. He took a mortar and pestle, and built a big fire, intending to pound him to powder or burn him to death. When everything was ready, he told the Turtle to choose whether he should die in the fire or be “grounded” in the mortar. The Turtle begged for his life; but when he found it was in vain, he prayed to be thrown into the fire or ground in the mortar, — anything except be thrown into the water. On hearing this, the Monkey picked the Turtle up in his bleeding fingers, and with all his might threw him into the middle of the stream.
Then the Turtle was very glad. He chuckled at his own wit, and laughed at the foolishness of the Monkey. He came up to the surface of the water and mocked at the Monkey, saying, “This is my home. The water is my home.”
This made the Monkey so angry that he lost his self-possession entirely. He jumped into the middle of the river after the Turtle, and was drowned.
Since that day monkeys and turtles have been bitter enemies,
2. HOW THE FARMER DECEIVED THE DEMON.!
Very many years ago, in a far-away land where the trees never changed their green leaves and where the birds always sang, there lived on an island a farmer with a large family. Though all alone on the island and knowing nothing of people in the outer world, they were always happy, — as happy as the laughing rills that rippled past their home. They had no great wealth, depending from year to year on the crops which the father raised. ‘They needed no money, for they lacked
1 Obtained from Fabian de la Paz, San Fe:nando, Pompanga, P. I., who says it was *“handed down from old time. ”
48 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
nothing; and they never sold their produce, for no people were near to buy.
One day in the middle of the year, after the crops were well started, a loud, unusual roar was heard. Suddenly a stiff gale blew up from the southwest, and with it came clouds which quickly hid the entire sky. The day turned to night. The birds ceased to sing and went to their nests. The wild beasts ran to their caves. The family sought shelter in the house from a heavy downpour of rain which continued for many days and nights. So long did it last that they became very anxious about the condition of things around them.
On the eighth day the birds again began to sing, and the sun was, as usual, bright. The farmer arose early and went out to look at his fields, but, lo! his crop was all destroyed. He went back to the house and told the family that the water-god was angry and had washed away all that he had hoped to have for the coming year.
What were they to do? The supply in the house was getting low and it was too late to raise another crop. The father worried night and day, for he did not know how he could keep his children from starvation.
One day he made a long journey and came into a place that was strange to him. He had never before seen the like of it. But in the midst of a broad meadow he saw a tree with spreading branches like an elm, and as his legs and back were stiff from walking, he went over and sat down under it. Presently, looking up, he discovered that on the tree were large red fruits. He climbed up and brought some down, and after satisfying his hunger he fell asleep.
He had not slept long when he was awakened by a loud noise. The owner of the place was coming. He was fearful to look upon. His body was like that of a person, but he was of enormous size; and he had a long tail, and two horns growing out of his head. The farmer was frightened and did not know what to do. He stood motionless till the master came up and began to talk to him. Then he explained that he had come there in search of food to keep his family alive. The monster was delighted to hear this, for he saw that he had the man and the man’s family in his power. He told the traveller that in return for a certain promise he would help him out of his troubles.
The demon, as he was called by some travellers to that land, showed the farmer a smooth, round stone, which, he said, gave its possessor the power of a magician. He offered to lend this to the farmer for five years, if at the expiration of that time the farmer and family would become his slaves. The farmer consented.
Then the demon was glad. He said to the farmer, “‘ You must squeeze the stone when you wish to become invisible; and must put it in your mouth when you wish to return to human form.”
The man tried the power of the magic stone. He squeezed it, and
Philippine Folk-Tales. 49
instantly became invisible to the demon ; but he bade him farewell, and promised to meet him in the same place at the appointed time.
In this invisible form the man crossed the water that washed the shore of the island on which he lived. There he found a people who lived in communities. He wanted something to eat, so he went into the shops; but he found that a restaurant owned by a Chinaman was the one to which most people of the city went. He put the stone in his mouth, thus appearing in visible form, and, entering the restaurant, ordered the best food he could find. He finished his meal quickly and went out. The waiter, perceiving that he did not pay, followed him. The man had no money; so he squeezed the stone and shot up into the air without being seen. The Chinaman, alarmed by the cry of the waiter, came out and ran in all directions, trying to find and catch the man. No one could find him; and the people thought he must indeed be a fast runner to escape so quickly, for they did not know of the gift of the demon.
Not far from that place he saw groups of men and women going in and out of a large building. It was a bank. The farmer went in to see what he could find. There he saw bags of money, gold and silver. He chuckled with joy at this opportunity. In order to use his hands freely, he put the stone in his mouth; but before he could fill all his pockets with money, he was discovered by the two guards, who began to pound him on the head. He struggled to save his life, and finally took the stone out of his mouth and squeezed it. Instantly he vanished from their sight; but he was vexed at the beating he had received, so he carried off all the gold they had in the bank. The people inside as well as outside the building became crazy. They ran about in all directions, not knowing why. Some called the firemen, thinking the bank was on fire; but nothing had happened, except that the farmer was gone and the two guards were “‘half dead frightened.” They danced up and down the streets in great excitement, but could not utter a word.
Straight home went the farmer, not stopping by the way. His wife and children were awaiting him. He gave them the money, and told them all about the fortune which he had gotten from the man on their own island, —told all his secrets. Prosperous they became, and with the money which he had brought they purchased all they needed from the city just opposite them.
The time passed so pleasantly that the man was surprised to discover that his promise would be due in two more days. He made preparations to go back to the land of his master. Arrived there, he met the same monster under the same tree. The demon was displeased to see the old man alone, without the family which also had been promised. He told the man that he would shut him in a cave and then would go and capture those left at home.
VOL. XXI. — NO. 80. 4
50 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
But the farmer would not go to the cave. The demon tried to pull him into a deep hole. Both struggled; and at last the farmer squeezed the magic stone and disappeared. He took a green branch of the tree and beat the demon. The demon surrendered. He begged for mercy.
The farmer went home, and from that day thought no more of the demon. He knew that while he held the stone the monster would never come to trouble him. And the family lived on in peace and happiness, as they had done before the water-god became angry with them.
3. BENITO, THE FAITHFUL SERVANT.’
On a time there lived in a village a poor man and his wife, who had a son named Benito. The one ambition of the lad from his earliest youth was that he might be a help to the family in their struggle for a living.
But the years went by, and he saw no opportunity until one day, as they sat at dinner, his father fell to talking about the young King who lived at a distance from the village, in a beautiful palace kept by a retinue of servants. The boy was glad to hear this, and asked his parents to let him become one of the servants of this great ruler. The mother protested, fearing that her son could not please his Royal Majesty ; but the boy was so eager to try his fortune that at last he was permitted to do so.
The next day his mother prepared food for him to eat on the journey, and he started for the palace. The journey was tiresome; and when he reached the palace he had difficulty in obtaining an audience with the King. But when he succeeded and made known his wish, the monarch detected a charming personality hidden within the ragged clothes, and, believing the lad would make a willing servant, he accepted him.
The servants of his Majesty had many duties. Theirs was not a life of ease, but of hard work. The very next day the King called Benito, and said, “I want you to bring me a certain beautiful princess who lives in a land across the sea; and if you fail to do it, you will be punished.”
Benito did not know how he was to do it; but he asked no questions, and unhesitatingly answered, “I will, my lord.”
That same day he provided himself with everything he needed for the journey and set off.. He travelled a long distance until he came to the heart of a thick forest, where he saw a large bird which said to him, ““Oh, my friend! please take away these strings that are wrapped all about me. If you will, I will help you whenever you call upon me.”
Benito released the bird and asked it its name. It replied, “Sparrow- hawk,” and flew away.
+ Obtained from Camilo Osias, Balayan, Luzon, P. I.
Sicheaalby Google
Philippine Folk-Tales. 51
Benito continued his journey until he came to the seashore. There he could see no way of getting across, and, remembering what the King had said if he failed, he stood looking out over the sea, feeling very sad.
The huge King of the Fishes saw him, and swam toward him.
“Why are you so sad?” asked the Fish.
“I wish to cross the sea to find the beautiful Princess,” replied the youth.
‘“‘Get on my back and I will take you across,” said the King of the Fishes.
Benito rode on the back of the Fish and crossed the sea. As soon as he reached the other side, a fairy in the form of a woman appeared to him, and became a great aid to him in his adventure. She knew exactly what he wanted; so she told him that the Princess was shut up in a castle guarded by giants, and that he would have to fight the giants before he could reach her. For this purpose she gave him a magic sword, which would kill on the instant anything it touched.
Benito now felt sure he could take the Princess from her cruel guards- men. He went to the castle, and there he saw many giants round about it. When the giants saw him coming, they went out to meet him, thinking to take him captive. They were so sure that they could easily do it, that they went forth unarmed. As they came near, he touched the foremost ones with his sword, and one after another they fell down dead. The other giants, seeing so many of their number slain, became terrified, and fled, leaving the castle unguarded.
The young man went to the Princess and told her that his master had sent him to bring her to his palace. The young Princess was only too glad to leave the land of the giants, where she had been held captive. So the two set out together for the King’s palace.
When they came to the sea they rode across it on the back of the same fish that had carried Benito. They went through the forest, and at last came to the palace. Here they were received with the greatest rejoicings.
After a short time the King asked the Princess to become his wife. “‘T will, O King!” she replied, “‘if you will get the ring I lost in the sea as I was crossing it.”
The monarch called Benito, and ordered him to find the ring which had been lost on their journey from the land of the giants.
Obedient to his master, Benito started, and travelled on and on till he came to the shore of the sea. There he stood, gazing sadly out over the waters, not knowing how he was to search for what lay at the bottom of the deep ocean.
Again the King of the Fishes came to him, asking the cause of his sadness. Benito replied, ‘“‘The Princess lost her ring while we were crossing the sea, and I have been sent to find it.”
pigitise 6’ Google
52 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
The King-Fish summoned all the fishes to come to him. When they had assembled, he noticed that one was missing. He commanded the others to search for this one, and bring it to him. They found it under a stone, and it said, “I am so full! I have eaten so much that I can- not swim.” So the larger ones took it by the tail and dragged it to their King.
“Why did you not come when summoned ?” asked the King-Fish.
“I was so full I could not swim,” replied the Fish.
The King-Fish, suspecting that it had swallowed the ring, ordered it to be cut in two. The others cut it open, and, behold! there was the lost ornament. Benito thanked the King of the Fishes, took the ring, and brought it to the monarch.
When the great ruler got the ring, he said to the Princess, “‘ Now that I have your ring, will you become my wife?”
“T will be your wife,” replied the Princess, “if you will find the ear- ring I lost in the forest as I was journeying with Benito.”
Instantly Benito was called, and was ordered to find the lost jewel. He was very weary from his former journey; but, mindful of his duty, he started for the forest, reaching it before the day was over. He searched for the earring faithfully, following the road which he and the Princess had taken; but all in vain. He was much discouraged, and sat down under a tree to rest. To his surprise a mouse of monstrous size appeared before him. It was the King of the Mice.
“Why are you so sad?” asked the Mouse.
“T am searching for an earring which the Princess lost as we passed through the forest, but am unable to find it.”
“T will find it for you,” said the King-Mouse.
Benito’s face brightened at hearing this. The King-Mouse called all his followers, and all but one little mouse responded. Then the King of the Mice ordered some of his subjects to find the absent one. They found him in a small hole among the bamboo-trees. He said he could not go because he was so satisfied (sated). So the others pulled him along to their master; and he, finding that there was something hard within the little mouse, ordered him to be cut open. It was done; and there was the very earring for which the tired servant was looking. Benito took it, thanked the King of the Mice, and brought the earring to his own King.
When the monarch received it, he immediately restored it to its owner and asked, ‘‘ Will you now become my wife?”
“Oh, dear King!” responded the Princess, ‘I have only one more thing to ask of you; and if you will grant it, I will be your wife forever.”
The King, pleased with his former successes, said, ‘‘ Tell me what it is, and it shall be granted.”
“Tf you will get some water from heaven,” said the Princess, ‘and
ae - ng ——————nieee oe- ae
Phileppine Folk-Tales. 53
some water from the nether-world, I will become your wife. That is my last wish.”
The King called Benito, and commanded him to get water from these two places. “I will, my King,” said Benito; and he took some provisions and started. He came to the forest; but there he became confused, for he did not know in which direction to go to reach either of the places. Suddenly he recalled the promise of the bird he had helped the first time he entered the wood. He called the bird, and it soon appeared. He told it what he wanted, and it said, “‘I will get it for you.”
He made two cups of bamboo, and tied one to each of the bird’s legs. They were very light, and did not hinder the bearer at all. Away the bird flew, going very fast. Before the day was ended, it came back with each cup full of water, and told Benito that the one tied to its right leg contained water from heaven, and the one tied to its left leg contained water from the nether-world.
Benito untied the cups, taking great care of them. He was about to leave, when the bird asked him to tarry long enough to bury it, as the places to which it had been were so far away that it was weary unto death. - Benito did not like to bury the bird, but he soon saw that it really was dying, so he waited; and when it was dead, he buried it, feeling very sorry over the loss of so helpful a friend.
He went back to the palace and delivered the two kinds of water to his master. The Princess then asked the King to cut her in two and pour the water from heaven upon her. The King was not willing to do it, so she did it herself, asking the King to pour the water. This he did, and, lo! the Princess turned into the most beautiful woman that ever the sun shone on.
Then the King was desirous of becoming handsome; so he asked the Princess to pour the other cup of water over him after he cut him- self. He cut himself, and she poured over his body the water from the nether-world; but from him there arose a spirit more ugly and ill- favored than imagination could picture. Fortunately, it soon vanished from sight.
The Princess then turned to Benito, and said, ““You have been faithful in your duties to your master, kind to me in restoring the Jewels I lost, and brave in delivering me from the cruel giants. You are the man I choose for my husband.”
Benito could not refuse so lovely a lady. They were married amid great festivities, and became the king and queen of that broad and fertile land.
Benito gave his parents one of the finest portions of his kingdom, and furnished them with everything they could desire. From that time on they were all very happy, — so happy that the story of their bliss has come down through the centuries to us.
54 Journal of American Folk-Lore.
TWO POPULAR BALLADS. EDITED BY G. L. KITTREDGE.
THE BISHOP OF OLD CANTERBURY.
THE following version of ‘King John and the Bishop” (Child, No. 45) is the form in which the ballad was remembered, in 1907, by the eminent astronomer, Professor Asaph Hall (1829-1908) from the singing of his grandfather in Goshen, Connecticut, many years ago. It was sent to Professor R. W. Willson, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Professor Hall, October 1, 1907, with a note, in which he remarks, ‘There are omissions of lines and probably of verses but it is the best I can do.”
Professor Hall’s version is related to the Brooksby broadside version (Child’s B), but shows many interesting variations. It is not from Percy’s version (‘‘Reliques,” 1765, li, 302), as collation shows (com- pare, for example, the third stanza with Percy’s seventh and with the fifth in Child’s B).
See, also, ‘‘Roxburghe Ballads,” ed. Ebsworth, vi, 746-754.
1. Old King John, that bloody old knight, Possessed great power to pull down great might; And as he was sitting, to make his heart merry, He sent for the Bishop of Old Canterbury.
Tra-la-la, tra-la-la, tra-la-la-la, tra-la-la.
2. “How now, noble bishop? ’T is said of thee That thou keepest a far better table than me; But if you can’t answer to my questions three, Your head shall be severed from your body.
3. “ My first question is, with all my estate, And golden crown I wear on my pate, With all my nobility, joy, and great mirth, You must tell to one penny just what I’m worth.
4. “My second question is, without any doubt, How long I would be travelling this wide world about; The third question answer as quick as a wink, And tell me presently what I do think.”
5. The bishop went home with heart rather sad; He met an old shepherd with crook and bag: “Good morning, noble bishop,” the shepherd did cry, ** What news, what news from the king’s court to-day?”
Dighi#ee » Google
Two Popular Ballads. 55
. “Sad news, sad news!’’ the bishop did cry;
. If I can’t answer his questions three, My head will be severed from my body.
. “His first question is, with all his estate,
IO.
Ir.
—
And golden crown he wears on his pate, With all his nobility, joy, and great mirth, T must tell to one penny just what he is worth.
. “His second question is, without any doubt,
How long he would be travelling this wide world about; The third question I must answer as quick as a wink, And tell him presently what he doth think.”
. “For one suit of your apparel
To King John I will go and settle this quarrel.” “One suit of my apparel I freely give, And ten pounds a year as long as you live.”
“Good morning, good morning!” the king did cry; “Have you come here to live or to die?”
“Tf I can’t answer to your questions three,
My head will be taken from my body.”
“My first question is, with all my estate,
And golden crown I wear on my pate,
With all my nobility, joy, and great mirth,
‘You must tell to one penny just what I’m worth.”
12. “For thirty pieces of silver our Saviour was sold
|
Unto the Jews so cruel and bold; So twenty and nine I think is your due,
“ For He must be one piece better than you.”
13. “My second question is, without any doubt,
14.
15.
How long I would be travelling this wide world about.” “Tf you would rise with yon sun and ride with the same, In twenty-four hours you would it obtain.”
“My third question answer as quick as a wink,
And tell me presently what I do think.”
“That I can do, and it will make your heart merry, —. You think I’m the Bishop of Old Canterbury. |
“That is not all, I’m here all alone; I’m a poor shepherd, and the bishop’s at home.”
56 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
16. “ Go tell the noble bishop, and tell him for me, He keeps a crafty fellow when he keeps thee.”
[THE HANGMAN’S TREE.]
The following version of ‘“‘The Maid Freed from the Gallows” (Child, No. 95) was communicated May 23, 1905, by Mr. Reed Smith, of Columbia, South Carolina, as learned in August, 1903, at Jager, West Virginia, from a mountaineer who could neither read nor write. It is almost identical with the version printed in Child, v, 296 (‘‘The Hangman’s Tree’’); cf. also version B (Child, ii, 351). See the Intro- duction to the one-volume collection of Ballads, in the ‘‘Cambridge Poets,” pp. XXvV, XXVi.
1. “Slack your rope, hangsman, And slack it for awhile; I think I see my brother coming, Riding many a mile.
2. “O brother, have you brought me gold? Or have you paid my fee? Or have you come to see me hanging On the gallows tree?”
3. “I’ve neither brought you gold; I’ve neither paid your fee; But I have come to see you hanging On the gallows tree.”
(So on with the whole family, — sister, father, mother, etc., ad infinitum.)
4. “Slack your rope, hangsman, And slack it for awhile; I think I see my true-love coming, Riding many a mile.
5. “O true-love, have you brought me gold? Or have you paid my fee? Or have you come to see me hanging On the gallows tree?”
6. “Yes, I have brought you gold; Yes, I have paid your fee; Nor have I come to see you hanging On the gallows tree.”
HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MAss.
Tuts fine old English ballad, still current among the plain folk of England, is by no means lost to popular tradition in the New World. The following version, sung to a sterling British folk-melody in the Eolian mode, is well worthy of preservation as a treasured relic of the good old days.
King Fohn and the Bishop.
KING JOHN AND THE BISHOP.
BY PHILLIPS BARRY.
2.
For he did great wrong, and maintained little right. Chorus. — With my derry-i-down, Heigh-down, Derry-der-ray !
: “in this stead, With ny crown of ses so fair on amy head,”
in “such (your) despite, Your head shall be taken from your body quite.”
4. “My first question is, without any doubt,
How long I’d be travelling this wide world about?” “You rise with the sun, go down with the same, In twenty-four hours you will it obtain.”
58 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
6. “Our Savior for thirty pieces was sold Unto the Jews, both wicked and bold, I think twenty-nine must be your just due, For I’m sure He was one piece better than you!”
7. “And from my third question you must not shrink, But tell me truly what I do think!” “My answer, here ’t is, ’t will make you quite merry, You think I’m the Bishop of old Canterbury!”
8. ‘But I’m his poor shepherd, as now you do seel”
“You bring him a pardon from good King John.” !
Ballad themes not infrequently are preserved in the form of a parallel prose tradition, sometimes derived from the ballad, sometimes clearly independent of it, and older. In connection with the theme of King John and the Bishop, the following humorous tale may well be recorded here.
Once there were two Irishmen who looked exactly alike. One was named Pat, the other Jimmy. Pat wished to be a policeman, and promised to vote for a certain candidate for mayor, if the latter, when elected to the office, would appoint Pat to a place on the force. After election, Pat went to see the Mayor, who, however, tried to put him off, on the ground that he was too ignorant to be a policeman. Still, he promised Pat the appointment, if he could answer the following questions: —
1. How large is the moon?
2. How many stars are in the heavens?
3. What am I thinking?
These questions Pat was to answer before the end of the following day. In despair, he left the Mayor’s office, and on the street he met Jimmy, his double. The latter, on leaming the reason for Pat’s discouragement, offered to go before the Mayor in Pat’s place, and answer the questions. Next morning the following dialogue took place in the Mayor’s office.
Jimmy. “Good morning, Mr. Mayor. I’ve come to answer those questions.”
1 Contributed to my collection, Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States, by S. A. F., Providence, R. I., as recollected by M. E. E., in whose family it is traditional. March 5» 1907.
King Fohn and the Bishop. 59
Mayor. ‘All right, Pat. Tell me first, how large is the moon.”
Jimmy. “Your Honor, it’s just four quarters!”
Mayor. ‘Very good. Now tell me, Pat, how many stars are in the heavens.”’
Jimmy. “Eleven million, eleven thousand, eleven hundred and eleven. If you don’t believe what I tell you, just go ahead and count them yourself!”
Mayor. ‘‘Very well, Pat. Tellme the answer to the third question, — what am I thinking ?” |
Jimmy. “Why, you’re thinking it’s Pat, but it’s Jimmy!” !
Boston, Mass.
* Told at a “neighborhood social,” March, 1907, by R. B. O., Vineland, New Jersey, native of Fulton, Missouri.
60 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
SURVIVALS OF OLD MARRIAGE-CUSTOMS AMONG THE LOW GERMANS OF WEST MISSOURL+?
BY WILLIAM G. BEK.
THE people whose peculiar marriage-customs I shall describe inhabit a portion of western Saline County, northwestern Pettis County, north- eastern Johnson County, and a large portion of Lafayette County in west Missouri. The nucleus of this settlement is Concordia in Lafayette County, a small prairie town of about nine hundred inhabitants. An irregular line, varying from eight to twenty-five miles in distance, roughly includes the region in question. Barring a few small centres where the English have retained their hold, this domain is singularly German. Survivals of European customs are met at every hand. The major portion of these people hail from Hanover or are descendants of Hanoverians. The broad dialect of this province, therefore, naturally prevails. However, the more pointed speech of the Westphalian and that of the inhabitant of Lippe Detmold is also sporadically heard. The High Germans and Swiss who have strayed among these Low Germans are very few in number. So strong is the influence of the Low German dialect that the descendants of. the High Germans soon acquire the prevailing Low German dialect.
The first Hanoverian who ventured into the wilds of west Missouri was Heinrich Dierking, whom the older generations of that region still familiarly call “Troester” Dierking. He settled either in 1838 or 1839 near the present site of Concordia. It is rather singular that a lone German should venture so far inland. Usually the first settlers | remained close to the larger rivers. Investigation reveals the fact that Heinrich Dierking had married an American woman soon after his arrival in America. When he arrived in Lafayette County he was accompanied by one Dick Mulkey. He therefore drifted so far west in company with English friends, and most probably with the kin of his wife’s family. The fertile prairies of Lafayette County and the rich, well-wooded creek bottoms pleased this German pioneer exceedingly. His letters to his friends and kin in Hanover soon brought them to his neighborhood. And thus, through “the Consciousness of Kind,” this region became settled by a people, bound together by like tradition, like speech, and in many instances by blood-relationship. All of them came to seek improvement of economic conditions. They came unprompted and unaided by settlement or immigration societies, not, like the settlers of Hermann, Missouri, to found a new German state in this country, nor,
? Read before the Missouri Folk-Lore Society, at their meeting at St. Louis, February 8, 1908.
Survivats of Old Marriage-Customs. 61
like the Keilites of Shelby County, Missouri, to carry out the whim of their leader, nor, like the religionists of Perry County, to transplant the Lutheran faith to this western soil, but simply as farmers who found the tillage of their small, worn-out acres in Germany too meagre a source of income. Once having gotten a foothold in that rich agricul- tural country of west Missouri, they, by the peaceful method of pur- chase, drove, as they still are driving, their English-speaking neighbors farther and farther out, until now one may journey for many miles without meeting an Englishman in this region. No price seems too high for them, provided the land is good and conveniently located. Many of their English neighbors, still clinging to a cheap aristocracy, find themselves compelled to sell to them to avoid the foreclosure of the mortgages which rest on their estates. In this peaceful manner this prosperous community, year by year, stretches farther and farther in ail directions.
Of a foreign-born population of 2342 (cf. U. S. Census of 1900) in Lafayette County, 1589, or almost 68 per cent., are German. Accord- ing to the same census, Saline County has 560 foreign-born Germans. Most of these are living in the western part of this county. We are, therefore, safe in assuming that 460 of them live in the region under discussion. Johnson County has 270 foreign-born Germans, at least 200 of whom belong to the Concordia country. Pettis County has 784 Germans of foreign birth, most of whom are living in or around Sedalia. It is entirely safe, however, to say that 150 of them inhabit the region here discussed. This gives us a total of 2399 foreign-born Germans in the Concordia country. It must at once be manifest that this number does not nearly represent the total number of Germans in this district. The settlement is an old one for this western country, and the families are very large. It is, therefore, entirely safe to reckon the German population at four times the number 2399, or 9596.
By reason of their occupation and of their great number, these Ger- mans have become very seclusive and rather self-satisfied, mingling comparatively little with the outside world. Church and school have contributed their share to keep things German very much alive among them. The customs which their fathers brought from beyond the sea live and are being perpetuated by succeeding generations. And so it happens that customs have survived among them in this, a foreign land, for three quarters of a century, customs which had their inception many centuries ago in another land. The very customs which I shall speak of are discussed among other old customs by Hans Meyer in his ‘‘Das Deutsche Volkstum,” pp. 276-279.
During a few years of residence in this settlement, I had ample opportunity to observe some of the customs of these people. They are a pleasure-loving people. Their parties, shooting-matches, picnics, and
62 Journal of American Folk-Lore.
similar gatherings are very largely attended. All the means of amuse- ment and social intercourse, however, dwindle into insignificance when compared with a typical Low German marriage feast. I shall describe one of these as I observed it, and I shall let it serve as a type. The engagement of a very wealthy young couple had been rumored for some time. On a certain day, the brother of the groom-to-be made his appearance at our house, in the capacity of Hochzeztsbitter or Braut- bitter (that is, the person who invites guests to the wedding). He was mounted on a thoroughbred. -The bridle and saddle were gayly decorated with many ribbons. The hat of the Hochzeitsbitter was also adorned with a mass of bright-colored ribbons, varying in length from one half to two yards. So numerous were these streamers, that the hat itself was invisible. In the stiff March breeze, which was augmented by the speed at which the horse travelled, the horse and rider were one splendid confusion of colors. It was with the greatest difficulty that the rider retained possession of his head-covering. In addition to these ribbons, the hat-band was studded with coins and paper money. While approach- ing the house, the Hochzeitsbitter uttered short piercing cries and discharged a heavy pistol. After entering the house he delivered his invitation by reciting, in an awkward manner, a short poem, which in a long drawn out way bade those present to attend the ceremony at a certain time and place. His mission ended, he sped on, uttering shouts and discharging his pistol, as at his approach. The wedding ceremony took place in a small country church. Crowds of invited guests, from far and near, attended. After the simple, brief ceremony every one hastened to his horse or conveyance. The bride and groom rode in a new spring wagon, drawn by two thoroughbreds. The Hoch- zeitsbitter officiated as driver of this wagon. After he had gotten a fair start, the whole crowd dashed after this wagon at a dead-run. The home of the groom’s father, where the celebration was to be continued, was five miles away. Up and down the rolling prairie the mad chase took its course. Every one attempted to overtake and, if possible, to pass the bridal pair. Suddenly the whole racing procession came to an abrupt halt. It was discovered by us who were in the rear, that a strong chain had been stretched across the road. It was the work of the small boy. The groom cast a handful of small coins among the young- sters. The chain was lowered and the mad chase resumed, to be checked a second and a third time in like manner. Finally, with foam-bedecked horses, we reached the home of the groom’s father. A sumptuous feast was awaiting us. After this had been thoroughly enjoyed, the dishes of the table at which the bride had eaten were quickly cleared away. The table-cloth was seized by the married women, and a lively scramble ensued in an attempt to ensnare one of the girls with the table-cloth. Finally one of the young women was caught. The blushing maid was
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Survivals of Old Marriage-Customs. 63
led back in triumph, amid the congratulatory shouts of all those present, who hailed her as the next bride-to-be. Later in the afternoon the whole party adjourned to a nearby meadow. Here the bride and groom took their stand at one end of the spacious field, the groom holding a broom in his hand. The young men all retired to the opposite side of the meadow. A foot-race followed, the winner seizing the broom in triumph, which victory symbolically designated him as the next groom to be. In the evening there came a dance, which lasted until daybreak. The following night occurred the charivari in its most deafening form.
It may not be out of place to explain some of these peculiar practices. There is no doubt that many of them date back many, many years in the history of our race. That they should survive in the land where they originated is not so surprising. But that they should prevail in an entirely foreign environment, surrounded by strange customs, is indeed noteworthy. The voluntary isolation of these people in a measure explains their existence.
The ribbons which adorn the hat of the Hochzeitsbitter are the con- tributions of those persons whom he has invited. The coins and paper money on his hat-band come from the same source. The money becomes a part of the bride’s dowry. The giving of the ribbons, I take it, is a survival of a custom of giving much more valuable gifts. At the bride’s home, or wherever the ceremony is continued, the Hochzeits- bitter always wears his decorated hat, which in itself shows how many persons have been invited. The guests bring presents to the wedding, and it is the duty of the Hochzeitsbitter to receive and arrange them. Besides these duties, he has others, the chief of which is the entertain- ment of the guests. He is a very busy person and in his odd attire a most striking figure. Not only the Hochzettsbitter is decorated with ribbons on the wedding-day, but also the guests adorn themselves. The buggy-whip always bears a long nbbon in order that every one may know the persons are going to the wedding as invited guests.
The chase which I described is no doubt a survival of a very old custom. It doubtless dates back to the time when men secured their wives by a chase; that is, they took them by force. This is, of course, not realized by those who participate in the race from the church. All that this chase means to them is that if any one succeeds in passing the bridal pair, the guests are given license to play all sorts of pranks at the place where the celebration is continued. The obstructions which the small boys placed in the way of the procession, and the accompanying ransom paid by the groom, most probably are a remnant of the time when women were secured by purchase.
I stated that the Brautbitter delivered his invitation in poetic form. I have been fortunate enough to collect a few of these poems. They
64 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
are now getting rare and rather hard to obtain. The practice seems to be dying out, as the younger generations are succeeding the old. The poems are usually handed down by word of mouth. The persons who now possess them have, as a rule, served in the capacity of Braut- bitter themselves. When a young man has to perform this duty, he seeks some old man who knows such a poem, and with much labor learns it from him. Like most things that come down to us by word of mouth, there are doubtless many things in these poems at the present time which may, with certainty, be regarded as interpolations. As will be seen, they are in High German. Although these people use only the Low German dialect in their daily intercourse, they always write in High German, and what poetry they may have is in High German. It is the language of the church and school, and whatever elements of culture may come to them in German come to them through the High German medium.
The following are some of the poems recited by the Brautbiter :—
Hier bin ich her gesandt,
Werde ein Brautbitter genannt.
In diesem Hause bin ich wohl bekannt.
Hier nehme ich meinen Hut und Stab
Und setze meinen Fuss darein
Dass ich méchte willkommen sein.
Sollt’ ich nicht willkommen sein,
So bitte ich um eine Flasche Wein.
Eine Flasche Wein ist mir zu viel,
Ein kleiner Schnaps macht auch Plasier.
Ich bin noch jung an Jahren,
Habe noch nicht viel erfahren,
Was ich erfahren hab’ und weiss
Das will ich Euch sagen mit Fleiss.
Ich soll ein Kompliment bestellen
Von Junggesellen und Jungfrau ——
Sie haben sich vor einigen Wochen
Verlobt und versprochen,
Dass sie nachsten Sonntag Hochzeit halten.
Dazu lade ich Euch ein,
Herr und Frau, Séhne und Téchter, Gross und Klein, Die im Hause zu finden sein.
Ich méchte, dass ihr sie besucht und ehrt
Und die Mahlzeiten verzehrt.
Zehn Kiihe, zwanzig Ochsen, dreissig Gansebraten, Vierzig Schweinebraten, die werden schén geraten. Und ein Fass Wein ist noch nicht tiber den Rhein. Und wenn die Musikanten die Saiten lassen erklingen, So kann ein jeder nach seinem Beliebea tanzen und springen. Und gutes Kartenblatt,
Damit ein jeder sein Vergnitigen hat.
Nun kranzelt mein schén Hitlein
Mit vielen schénen Bandlein.
Habe ich meine Rede nicht gut gemacht,
So habe ich sie doch zu Ende gebracht.
Survivals of Old Marriage-Customs. 65
The following is a rather free prose translation of this poem: —
Hither I have been sent, I am called the Brautbitter. In this house I am well known. Here I take off my hat and rest my staff and enter in. I trust I may be welcome. Should I not be welcome, then I ask for a flask of wine. A flask of wine is too much for me, a drink of brandy gives pleasure, too. I am still young in years, have not had much experience. What I know, however, I tell you with diligence. I am sent to deliver the compliments of Mr. and Miss .. They became engaged a few weeks ago, and promised to get married next Sunday. To the wedding I invite you, lord and lady, sons and daughters, great and small, as they are in this house. I wish that you visit them and do them honor and consume the feast. Ten cows, twenty oxen, thirty roast geese, forty roast pigs, will be well prepared. And a barrel of wine is not yet over the Rhine. And when the musicians strike up the strings, then may each one after his liking dance. Also good card games will be prepared, that each one may have his pleasure. Now decorate my pretty hat with many a fine ribbon. Have I not said my speech well, I have at least brought it to a close.
Another poem of this kind is the following: —
Guten Tag in diesem Haus! Alle die in Kiiche und Keller sind kommt ’mal heraus Und héret zu Was ich Euch erzahlen tu’. Hier komm’ ich her geritten Und nicht geschritten. Mein Pferd habe ich miissen bei der Pforte lassen stehn, Und muss zu Fuss zum Hause eingehn. Was ich will ist Euch wohl bekannt, Hochzeitsbitter bin ich genannt Und ausgesandt Vom Brautigam und der Braut. Der Brautigam ist und die Braut —— Die Beiden lassen Euch freundlich griissen und bitten, Knecht und Magd, Jung und Alt, Gross und Klein, So wie sie im Hause zu finden sein, Die sollen von mir gegriisset und gebeten sein. Und wenn Ihr meine Bitte wollt recht verstehn, So kénnt Ihr niachsten Dienstag zum Hause des —— zur Hochzeit gehn. Und darnach kénnt Ihr Euch laben, Mit dem was wir haben — Mit kaltem Bier und Branntewein. Denk’ da wollen wir anfangen ein wenig lustig zu sein. Da sollt Ihr dann sehen Den Brautigam bei seiner Geliebten stehen, Und die Kopulation anhéren, Wie der Mann die Frau und die Frau den Mann soll ehren. Und wenn dies alles ist geschehn, So sollen die Tische mit vielem geriistet stehn. Und wenn es Euch nicht mehr list’ und schmeckt, So werden die Tische wieder abgedeckt. Und darnach will ich Euch verschaffen Raum und Platz, Feu’r und Licht, Damit ein jeder kann sehen was er verricht. Doch von weiterem zu erzahlen fallt mir zu schwer, Gebt mir ’mal was zu trinken her. Ein Glas Bier ist nicht zu viel, Zwei ist mein rechtes Ziel. Wollt Ihr mich ’mal traktieren ? VOL. XXI.—— NO. 80. 5
66 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
Sonst will ich lieber ein Haus weiter marschieren. Und wer nun eine schéne Jungfrau will sein,
Die schmiicke mein’ Hut mit ein’ schén Bandlein. Was ich nicht bin, das kann ich noch werden,
Und was ich nicht weiss, das kann ich noch lernen. Habe ich meine Rede nicht gut gemacht,
So habe ich sie doch kurz zu Ende gebracht.
A free translation of this poem is the following: —
Good day to all in this house! All who are in the kitchen and cellar, let them come out and listen to what I shall tell you. Hither I have come riding and not walking. My horse I had to leave standing at the gate and come a-foot to the house. What I wish is well known to you. Hochzeitsbitter I am called and sent by the bridegroom and the bride. The groom is ——,, the bride . The two greet you kindly and pray that the man-servant and the maid-servant, young and old, great and small, as they are found in this house, shall be kindly greeted by me. And if you wish to understand my invita- tion better, then you may come next Tuesday to the home of Mr. —— to attend the wedding. And after that you may refresh yourselves with cold beer and with brandy. I fancy there we shall begin to be merry. There you shall see the groom stand beside his bride and listen to.the marriage ceremony, how the husband his wife and the wife her husband shall honor. And when all this is done, then the tables shall be set. And when you have satisfied your appetite, then the tables shall be cleared away. After that I’ll provide room and space, fire and light, that each may see what he does. But to tell more is too hard for me. Give me something to drink. One glass of beer is not too much, two is my real capacity. Will you give me something to drink? Otherwise I desire to go a house farther. Now, she who wishes to be a good girl let her decorate my hat with pretty ribbons. What I am not, I may yet become, and that which I do not know I may yet learn. If I have not made my speech well, I have at least made it short and have brought it to a close.
The next poem plainly shows howimperfectly these things are remem- bered. The young farmer from whom these lines were obtained had served as Brautbitter some few years ago. The first part seems pretty well remembered. The close, however, suddenly comes to an abrupt stop.
Guten Tag! Guten Tag in diesem Haus!
Die Hochzeitsgiaste bitt’ ich heraus.
Hochzeitsbitter ist mein Begehr,
Und wenn es auch nicht gefallig war’..
Es lassen Euch grtissen der Brautigam —— und die Braut —— Thr sollt am nachsten Donnerstag zur Hochzeit kommen. Dazu lad’ ich Euch alle ein,
Gross und klein,
Und wie sie hier im Hause sein.
Potztausend, bald hatt’ ich noch eins vergessen —
Die Hausfrau oder die Jungfrau
Muss mir den Hut noch bekrinzen.
Among the poems which came into my possession, there is one which is not used by the Concordia Germans any more. It was used some years ago, however, as I am assured by trustworthy persons. It is not an invitation to the wedding, as will be seen; but it shows the survival of another custom, namely that of some one going to fetch the bride to the place where the wedding is to take place. This person may have
Suvvivals of Old Marriage-Customs. 67
been a near kinsman or a good friend. Besides asking for the bride, the messenger admonishes the maid to observe certain things which will give her and those associated with her pleasure. This is the poem: —
Guten Tag in diesem Haus,
Mit einem gewiinschten Hochzeitsgruss!
Ich bin ausgesandt von dem Herrn Brautigam,
Um die Jungfrau Braut zu holen.
Ist sie hier so wollen wir stille stehn,
Ist sie nicht hier so wollen wir weiter gehen.
Ist sie hier
So trete sie herfiir.
Der Brautigam wartet mit Verlangen,
Mit Freuden wird er dich empfangen,
An seinem Herd in seinem Haus.
Das Haus zier Du mit Reinlichkeit,
Dass Ordnung herrsche jederzeit.
Sei Du zu allem niitze.
O dann wird man stets Dich lieben,
Nie betriiben.
Deinem Stande
Mache Du Ebre und keine Schande.
Die Schwiegereltern liebe.
Sei Du ihnen stets von Herzen gut
Und sind sie traurig mach’ ihnen Mut.
Tw’ es aus Kindesliebe.
O dann ist die Ehe
Qhne Wehe.
Keine Leiden
Werden Dich vom Frieden scheiden.
The English of this poem is the following: —
Good day to all in this house, with a welcome wedding greeting! I am sent by the groom to fetch the bride. If she is here, I will remain here; if she is not here, I will go on. If she is here, then let her step forth. The groom waits with longing, with joy to receive thee, at his hearth in his house. The house thou shalt adorn with clean- liness that order may reign at all times. Be thou useful in all things. Oh, then one will ever love thee, never grieve thee. To thy station lend thou honor and no dishonor. Thy parents-in-law do thou honor, be good to them from thy heart, and if they are sorrowful, give ‘them courage. Do it in the love of a child. Oh, then is the married state without suffering. No discomfort will separate thee from peace.
UNIVERSITY oF MIssouRI, CoLumsBia, Mo.
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NOTES ON FOLK-MEDICINE.
BY CHARLES BUNDY WILSON.
In view of the fact that the matter that I am about to present may seem trivial, if not ridiculous, I wish at the outset to defend the dignity of the study of folk-medicine by quoting from an authority ' on the subject.
‘To collect odd phrases and scraps of folk-lore and string them to- gether for the benefit of the curious is not to investigate folk-lore; it is rather to bring ill-deserved ridicule upon a study which has not for its object the pastime of a leisure hour, but the investigation of the great- est problem which man can solve —the growth of his mental: faculties. If students of folk-lore had any less end in view, they could not ask for their pursuit serious consideration; and they would deserve neither sympathy nor assistance in their work. It is as a serious contribution to the history of man’s life in this world from the dawn of his intellec- tual being that each work based on investigation of primitive habits and primitive phases of thought must be regarded. It does not appear to be vain to believe that by such inquiry there is more probability of ulti- mate knowledge of this difficult subject being reached, than by almost any other way, if it is possible, as I believe it is, to go back by the aid of folk-lore to ages, and, what is of more importance, to stages of life and thought which can otherwise in no way be reached.”
The poet Schiller, too, must have recognized the dignity of the study of old customs when he wrote in his “‘ Maria Stuart,” —
Ein tiefer Sinn wohnt in den alten Brauchen; ~ Man muss sie ehren.
The material for this paper was found in remedies preserved by German-Americans now living in eastern Iowa. Some of the remedies have been preserved by tradition, and others in a booklet, the exact title of which is as follows: —
Americanisches Noth- und Hialfs-Bichlein; Enthaltend Hausmittel und Recepte fir allerley Krankheiten und Zufalle an Menschen und Vieh. Hauptsachlich aus den hinterlassenen Manuscripten eines zu seiner Zeit beruhmt gewesenen Arztes in Virginia gezogen. Osnaburg, Stark County, Ohio; Gedruckt und zu haben bey Heinrich Kurtz. 1837.
! Black, Folk-Medicine: A Chapter in the History of Culture, London, 1883, p. 214.
Notes on Folk-Medicine. 69
According to tradition, as related to me by Mr. William D. Lichty, of Johnson County, Iowa, Kurtz was formerly a German minister who lived in Pennsylvania. Through the kindness of Mr. Lichty, whose faith is strong and whose integrity is unquestioned, the writer has had access to a copy of this rare booklet, which is treasured almost as sacredly as the Bible. It has been worn by years of service and soiled by reverent hands. Not all the remedies in the collection can be classified under folk-medicine, for some probably have real medical value. They were widely used in western Pennsylvania seventy-five years ago, it is said, and there are some persons whose faith in them is still unshaken. They are so closely bound with the life of these people and their families that this fact has preserved them. The book was sacred to the owner’s mother, and that in itself would keep the son’s faith alive.
Among the early Germanic peoples the healing art was connected with religious rites, as the charms and incantations testify, and later there appeared the beginning of a science in the selection of herbs and simples, as is well known. A confusion of both methods may be seen in this collection of cures. I believe that many of these remedies, naive as they may seem, have a direct bearing upon the history of thought and faith. Space will permit the selection of only a few that seem to have interest for students of folk-medicine. In the translation I have endeavored to preserve the simple style. What may be taken as an introduction is not a remedy for disease, but a preventive of disease.
HEALTH.
“Eat slowly. Always have on your table salt, pepper, parsley, sage, garlic, and a raw onion.” Page 52.
NOSEBLEED.
Of the various cures for nosebleed the following are the most inter- esting : —
‘Pull out hairs from under the arms of the one whose nose bleeds. Take an uneven number as three, five, seven, or nine, and hold them in the nose of the patient. The bleeding will stop at once.” Page 18.
Note that the numbers are magic or mystic numbers. Hair seems to have had mysterious qualities. In the neighborhood of Worms * there is a belief that combed-out hair, if thrown on the highway, lays you open to witchcraft. In Swabia ? there is a superstition that hair that is cut off must be burnt, or thrown into running water. If a bird carries it away, the person’s hair will fall out. According to a belief in the western part of Scotland,* if a bird used any human hair for building its nest, the person whose hair was used would become liable to headaches, and
! Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, tr. Stallybrass, London, 1882, vol. iv, p. 1799. 2 Ibid. p. 1804. * Black, Folk-Medicine, p. 16.
_
70 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
ultimately become bald. This superstition has its explanation in the belief that the bird was an evil spirit or a witch. In Devonshire ' there is a belief that you can give a neighbor ague by burying a dead man’s hair under his threshold. A Scotch ? cure for epilepsy is to bury cuttings of hair below the patient’s bed. Magic lies in the hair according to Grimm ;* consider the elf-lock and the elf-knot ; witches have all their hair shaven off. To cure warts,‘ a common remedy was to tie as many knots on a hair as there were warts and throw the hair away. A German cherished ° his hair as a visible sign of freedom. Among the Frisians men taking an oath touched their hair or beard. Grimm tells how those who were to be beheaded took measures to save from stain of blood their golden hair. It was a criminal offense ° to let a slave’s hair grow long. Black reports” that in Devonshire, and in Scotland, when a child has whooping-cough a hair is taken from its head, put between slices of bread and butter, and given to a dog. If in eating it the dog cough, the whooping-cough will be transferred to the animal, and the child go free. In some parts of Ireland, when one has been attacked with scarlet fever, some of the sick person’s hair is cut off and passed down the throat of adonkey, which is supposed to receive the disease at once. Thomas * reports that in Asia Minor the hair of the dog which has bitten a man is used to cure the bite. All these beliefs and practices have an interest in their bearing upon the use of hair to cure bleeding of the nose. Other cures for nosebleed are as follows: —
“Hold a little dragon’s blood (from a dragon-tree) in the hand awhile, and the nose will stop bleeding.” Page 27.
“Take a fresh egg; open it on the large end and empty it. Fill the shell half full of blood, and then place it in hot ashes, but do not let any ashes get into the shell. As soon as the blood becomes hot and hard, the bleeding of the nose will gradually cease.” Page 34.
“Burn cork; make it fine, and put it in the nose.” Page 24.
Compare this last cure with the English belief ® that cork has the power of keeping off cramp if placed between the sheets of one’s bed. Sometimes cork garters are made by sewing together thin pieces of cork between two ribbons. As popular belief has established an association between nosebleed and love-sickness, the next remedy may appropri- ately be recorded with those just given.
INSANITY CAUSED BY LOVE.
“Melt a half ounce of saltpeter in a quart of well-water, and let the patient drink it when he is thirsty.” Page 36.
1 Black, Folk-Medicine, p. 27. 3 Ibid. p. 172
8 Vol. iv, p. 1631. ‘ Black, p. 185. * Gummere, Germanic Origins, New York, 1892, pp. 59, 60. © Ibid. p. 281. 7 Black, p. 35.
® Folk-Lore, vol. xii, p. 191. ® Black, p. 199.
Notes on Folk-Medtcine. 71
HOMESICKNESS.
“Take a good charge of gunpowder, and sew it on the inside of the shirt near the neck of the one suffering with homesickness.” Page 24.
The significance of gunpowder I have not been able to discover, but remedies are very often tied on or worn fastened around the arm, neck, or waist. Grimm!’ quotes many examples illustrating this practice. The apparent success of a much advertised “electric belt” is perhaps to be attributed to a lingering belief in the charm of the amulet.
MELANCHOLY.
“Take two handfuls of milfoil or yarrow, one dram of root of ele- campane, and the same amount of sassafras, and steep them as you would tea. Drink this and continue the use of it. It is excellent.” Page 37.
The emotions are indeed closely associated, and the sense of humor isnot lacking in the temperament of the people who use these remedies,
‘as the next cure for melancholy shows.
“Take root of elecampane, and cook it in pure wine, and then let it cool. Then place a piece of red hot steel in it so that the wine will become hot again. Take this drink as hot as possible, and continue repeating the dose. It will soon drive away melancholy.” Page 1.
BEAUTY.
‘““Take common pulverized alum and the white of an egg. Beat them together, and then heat them. Apply this to the face for two or three days. Not only will freckles and wrinkles disappear, but the face will become beautiful and lovely.” Page ro.
DIFFIDENCE.
“Take every morning in honey as much arum-root as will lie on the end of a case-knife, and continue its use for some time.” Page 31.
Among the early Germanic races honey was prized far beyond any standard of our age, and finally bees? passed into religion and super- stition. Honey became a precious thing among the Germanic gods, and it was the main ingredient of their drink.
DEAFNESS.
“Take a black radish ; cut the top off as one cuts the top off a turnip; then dig out the inside like a turnip; put this on a china plate or platter, for pewter is not good. Mix salt with it, and then put it back into the shell of the radish ; fasten the top on again, and let it stand twelve hours. Then take it out again; put it in a cloth, and squeeze the juice into a
3 Vol. iv, p. 1173. 2 Black, p. 39.
72 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
glass; put it in the sun; it will be ready for use in forty-eight hours. Place three or four drops in the ears every night.” Page 13.
In considering the radish as a cure for deafness, it is interesting to note that it was likewise used to cause temporary deafness. In Cock- ayne’s “Saxon Leechdoms,”’ vol. ii, p. 343, advice ? is given somewhat as follows: “To escape a ‘curtain lecture,’ or to guard oneself against a woman’s chatter, one should taste at night without other food a radish, and chatter will not be able to harm him.” In Scotland and England ? it was the onion, not the radish, that was used to cure deafness. In the former country ants’ eggs were mixed with the juice of onions and dropped into the ear. The use of ants’ eggs may have some connection with the old Germanic custom of burying * diseases and remedies in an ant-hill.
WHITLOW.
“Bind on the letters LASVSRA.” Page 17.
I do not know what this charm means. It is as obscure as one ‘ for toothache used in Germany in the eighteenth century, which was as follows: Write either NAGWE or MAGRODUS with chalk on the table. If you write NAGWE, you must pierce every letter with a needle. If you write MAGRODUS, you must pierce every letter with a knife, and at each thrust ask the patient whether he feels anything. NAGWE is used when the upper teeth are affected, and MAGRODUs when the lower teeth are affected.
RHEUMATISM.
““Every evening, when you take off your shoes, place them upside down so that the heels and the soles will be up and the foot-opening down. Continue this a while.” Page 1.
This remedy may be explained under the head of the transference of disease common not only in Germany but in Mexico, Ireland, Persia, and elsewhere. The idea is that the rheumatism is transferred to the floor or earth by turning the shoes upside down. In Thuringia, for instance, there is a belief that a rag or any small article touched by a sick person, and then hung on a bush, imparts the malady to any person who may touch this article in passing, and frees the sick man from the disease. May not the principles of contagious diseases be connected with this old belief? But in the case of contagious diseases the sick person in transferring the disease is not cured.
It has not been possible to make a historical investigation of all the cures presented in this brief paper, to say nothing of the whole series.
1 Quoted by Black, p. 203. 7 Ibid. p. 193.
* Grimm, vol. iii, p. 1169. ‘ Beitrdge zur Volkskunde, Festschrift fir Karl Weinhold, Breslau, 1896, p. 113.
Notes on Folk-Medicine. 73
Enough has been given, however, to indicate that there are problems, even in folk-medicine, still awaiting solution, and that the field is indeed rich. If we grant that folk-medicine is really an outgrowth of the sincere thoughts and devout beliefs of the minds of the masses, of the common faith of the common people, then it is not vain to hope that illustrations of man’s mental history will be found by studying collections of classified facts, and that the investigation of things and superstitions that seem trivial, if not ridiculous, may after all be dignified and ‘‘not unworthy of systematic analysis.”
THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, Iowa City, Iowa.
74 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
NINETEENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN FOLK-LORE SOCIETY.
THE Society met at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, in affliation with the American Anthropological Association and Section H of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, from December 30, 1907, to January 3, 1908.
The Council of the Society met on Tuesday, December 31, 1907, at 2.30 P. M., at the Field Museum of Natural History.
The Society held its annual business meeting on Wednesday, January 1, 1908, at the Haskell Assembly Room, University of Chicago.
The Treasurer presented his report for the period from December 24, 1906, to December 24, 1907.
RECEIPTS. Balance from last statement . . . . . . 2 6 «© © © « $1,932.01 Receipts from annual dues eG ge ee a. es ee A wR 816.10 Subscriptions to Publication Fund . . #4 143.00 Sales through Houghton, Mifflin & Co. (net of disilicg and other expenses): Memoirs ... F 172.42
Journal of Avietican: F Sl Lore: Beotenber c ieee: ts Jane I, 1907, less Io per cent. commission, and charges for express-
age, mailing, printing, etc. . . . ee ae ee ee 338.36 California Branch, S. A. Barrett, Treasurer oo a ge a ee 42.05 Iowa Branch, Edward K. Putnam, Secretary . . ; 12.00 Interest account on balance, Old Colony Trust Co. (less diate
TOFCONECTION)” hd, tas es cd es eR a HE ce G9 37-37 $3,492.32 DISBURSEMENTS.
Houghton, Mifflin & Co., for manufacture of Journal of Ameri-
can Folk-Lore, Nos. 75, 76, 77,78 ... . . $1,133.09 Houghton, Mifflin & Co., for manufacture of “Los Pastores” ; 690.83 Houghton, Mifflin & Co., for eee tooo memo. “To the
Author” .. : 1.60 Houghton, Mifflin & Co, for publiehing’s 200 copies oe “ Open Let-
ter to Members”. . ww 2.83 Houghton, Mifflin & Co., ie pulling nroots of dialling list — 2.25 Caustic, Claflin & Co., Cambridge, Mass., printing for Secretary . 2.25 H. M. Hight, Boston, oe printing bill-forms, aeeagay:
envelopes, etc. . . a ee 7-75
Old Colony Trust Co., 12 shillings deposited s as $3. & & wad .08
Nineteenth Annual Meeting. 75
ee Oe Re ee $8.00 Secretary’s postage . . 10.75 Harvard Coéperative Society, for Dr. Alfred M. Tones hand:
stamp, pad, typewriter paper, printing, and folded covers. 4.60 Dr. Alfred M. Tozzer, Acting Permanent Secretary, a Eterm
and express .. . 8 2.00 Dr. Alfred M. Tozzer, Acting Pepaaeat Secretary: are on
books belonging to the Society in the possession of Mr. Newell . 2.90 Dr. Alfred M. Tozzer, Acting Permanent Secretary, for photo-
graph and print of Mr. W. W. Newell for Journal . . . 95 Edward W. Wheeler, Cambridge, Mass., printing cards, bill-
forms, envelopes, etc. . . . 17.75
Dr. Franz Boas, part of expenses of the Joint ‘Committee of ‘the A. A. A. S., to memorialize the Carnegie Institution in regard to the organization of anthropological work, — postage, type-
writing, and printing . . ee ae 6.00 Rebate to Boston Branch, A. R. Tisdale, Treasurer Sie oak 35-00 Rebate to Cambridge Branch, M. L. Fernald, Treasurer . . 23.00 Rebate to Missouri Branch, Miss M. L. Dalton,' Treasurer. . 13.50 Rebate to Arizona Branch, Mrs. F. J. McCormack, Treasurer . 7.00 Miss Elizabeth Coggins, ables Mass., ae for R. B.
Dixon, President ... . ‘ 1.35 Old Colony Trust Co., collecting one “check Gnder new ean 10
$1,973.58 Balance to new account . . . . 2... «© © © © © «© © ~ = 1,518.73 $3-492.31
Evriot W. REMICK, Treasurer.
This report was duly accepted, and the President nominated a com- mittee, consisting of Messrs. A. M. Tozzer, H. J. Spinden, R. G. Fuller, to audit the same.
The following nominations were presented by a Nominating Com- mittee appointed from the Council.
PRESIDENT, Professor Roland B. Dixon, Harvard University.
First VICE-PRESIDENT, Professor H. M. Belden, University of Missouri.
SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT, Professor E. K. Putnam, Davenport Academy of Sciences.
EDITOR OF JOURNAL, Professor Franz Boas, Columbia University.
PERMANENT SECRETARY, Dr. Alfred M. Tozzer, Harvard Univer- sity.
TREASURER, Mr. Eliot W. Remick, Boston, Massachusetts.
t Died June, 1907.
76 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
CouUNCILLORS (for three years): Dr. J. R. Swanton, Bureau of Eth- nology, Washington, D. C.; Professor P. E. Goddard, University of California; Mrs. Zelia Nuttall, Mexico City. (For two years): Mr. F. A. Golder, Tempe, Arizona; Dr. H. M. Hurd, Baltimore. (For one year): Dr. C. Wissler, American Museum of Natural History; Miss Alice C. Fletcher, Washington, D. C.
The following are also members of the Council, either as Past Presi- dents of the Society within five years, or as Presidents of local Branches: Professor Livingston Farrand, Professor G. L. Kittredge, Professor A. L. Kroeber, Professor F. W. Putnam, Professor R. B. Perry, Mr. Charles Keeler, Colonel J. H. McClintock, Miss Mary A. Owen, Professor Charles B. Wilson.
The Acting Secretary was empowered to cast a single ballot for the officers as nominated. This was done, and they were duly declared elected.
On Wednesday, January 1, 1908, PROFESSOR R. B. Drxon gave his Presidential Address on “‘Some Aspects of the American Shaman.”
The following papers were some of those appearing on the programme of the joint sessions of the three Societies: —
PROFESSOR FRANz Boas, ‘‘A Report of the Committee on the Con- cordance of American Mythology.”
PROFESSOR CHARLES B. WILSON, ‘“‘A Number Form from Folk-Lore Medicine.”
Dr. A. M. TozzeEr, ‘‘A Note on Star-Lore among the Navajos.”’
Mr. H. J. SPINDEN, ‘‘The Mythology of the Nez Percé Indians.”’
Mr. V. STEFANSSON, “‘The Treatment of Disease among the Mac- kenzie River Eskimos.”
The following abstract of a portion of the report of the Acting Secretary to the Council in regard to the activities of the Society, its condition and relative strength as compared with former years, was read and ordered printed : —
The death of Mr. William Wells Newell, the Permanent Secretary, came as a blow to the members of the Society on January 21, 1907. As Founder of the Society, Editor of the Journal of American Folk- Lore from 1888 to 1900, Permanent Secretary since the beginning of the Society, and the main inspirer of folk-lore research in America, his loss is most keenly felt by a large circle, and more especially by the officers and members of the Folk-Lore Society.
The Council of the general Society and the officers of the various Branches passed resolutions of respect upon the death of Mr. Newell. A Memorial Meeting was held in the First Parish Church, Cambridge, on Sunday, March 10, 1907, through the initiation of the Folk-Lore Society. An account of this meeting, together with a copy of the resolu-
Nineteenth Annual Meeting. 77
tions passed by the various Branches, was given in the Journal of Ameri- can Folk-Lore for January-March, 1907 (vol. xx, no. lxxvi).
The encouraging results set forth in the report which follows are in great part due to the energies and devotion of Mr. Newell in behalf of the Society.
GENERAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT. BALANCES IN THE TREASURY ON DECEMBER 31 FROM 1900 TO 1907.
1900, $1435.45 1904, $1240.47 1gol, 1868.32 1905, 1429.97 1902, 2195.88 1906, 1931,01 1903; 2313.85 1907, 1518.73
The balances for the years 1904 and 1907 show a falling off owing to the publication of Memoirs during these years. It will be seen that with these exceptions the figures show a very slight decline from the years marked by the largest balance, 1902, 1903.
NUMBER OF MEMBERS IN THE AMERICAN FOLK-LORE SOCIETY FROM 1900 TO 1907.
Honorary Life Annual Total 1900, 15 II 336 362 Igol, I5 12 336 363 1902, 15 12 298 325 1903, 14 12 285 311 1904, 13 9 209 231 1905, 13 9 239 261 1900, 13 9 329 351 1907, 14 8 358 379
It will be noted that in the years 1904 and 1905 there was a decided decrease in the membership of the Society. Since 1905, however, an increase has taken place. This is due in part to the formation of new State Branches which are powerful factors in furthering the interests of the Society. We are reaping the benefits of the late Secretary’s un- tiring devotion to the causes of the Society. He was mainly instrumental in the formation of the new branches.
No new life members have been added to the list since rg01. This opportunity of life membership is one which might well be grasped by members who desire to aid the Society with their support.
MEMBERSHIP BY BRANCHES FOR THE YEAR 1907. Boston Branch, gI California Branch, 49 Cambridge Branch, 40
78 Fournal of American Folk-Lore.
Arizona Branch, 34 Missouri Branch, 33 Iowa Branch, 13 Members at large, 119
The members at large are those who do not reside in the vicinity of one of the local Branches. They receive the Journal, and are always welcome at the meetings of any of the Branches whenever it is possible for them to attend. They have the same rights of voting at the annual meeting of the general Society as the members of the local Branches.
Several of the Branches have started with a nucleus of those residing in the vicinity who are already members of the Society, but who belong to no local branch.
QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE GOVERNMENT OF LOCAL BRANCHES.
As a general rule, the annual dues of three dollars are to be collected by the local Treasurer of the members of the Branch. The general Treasurer sends bills only to those who are not members of any Branch.
The local Branch receives a rebate of fifty cents a member for all dues which are paid before April rst. Otherwise, unless specially provided for, the entire three dollars is handed over to the general Treasurer. In communicating with the general Treasurer, the local Treasurer is advised to send the sum of two dollars and a half of the three dollars collected from each member and a receipt for the remain- ing fifty cents per paid membership which is retained by the Branch. In this way uniformity is obtained.
In the cases of founding new Branches the Council has made certain special inducements, which remain in force for one year only. A larger rebate is given so as to enable the Branch to meet expenditures which naturally are greater during the period of organization.
It is recommended to the Council that members who are two years in arrears in regard to dues should be dropped from the list of members after receiving due warning preceded by at least two bills. In looking over the membership list it has been found that this rule has not been observed, and that many names appear on the mailing list without a corresponding appearance upon the books of the Treasurer. Such cases have been investigated as carefully as possible.
CONDITION OF LOCAL BRANCHES.
The Boston and Cambridge Branches report a prosperous year with the usual number of meetings. The Boston Branch has increased in membership. The Cambridge Branch limits its membership to 40.
The Missouri and Arizona Branches were started in 1906. Special rebates were given for the first year. Since that time it has been found
Nineteenth Annual Meeting. 79
possible to carry on the Branches upon the rebate of fifty cents per member. The Missouri Branch has suffered a loss in the death of its Treasurer, Miss Mary L. Dalton.
The California Branch, owing to peculiar conditions upon the Pacific Coast, has found it impossible to pay its necessary expenses upon the usual rebate. It is recommended that this matter be taken under con- sideration by the Council, and that some definite agreement be entered into between the California Branch and the general Society to govern the present as well as future years.
During the year 1907 the Iowa Branch was founded under most promising conditions.
The success which has marked the founding of the new state branches might well be duplicated in other States. It should